Five
by GwendolynTalbot
Summary: Set following Choreographed - Elliot is happy that Olivia is back, but the case of a serial rapist and killer is taking it's toll on everybody. Are Elliot's concerns for Olivia Unfounded? How will they cope when it gets worryingly personal? Friendship, angst, progressing toward Bensler. Rated T for themes, language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**This is set in season 8, following Choreographed, shortly after Liv returns from Oregon. EO friendship and mutual angst, headed to EO, as I really want these two to find some happiness, but it's a hard case, so they wont have full on fluffy moments! I own nothing, sadly.**

**Big thanks to Mrs-Amy-Lee - you are an inspiration :-)**

**MONDAY**

Elliot was angry. It was 8.30 AM and he had already had a full blown argument with Kathy, who had called him the moment he was about to leave. He was annoyed at himself for answering the phone in the first place, but he couldn't avoid Kathy forever - especially as he had been managing just that, quite defty, for days now. She had wanted to know when he was going to sign the divorce papers - again. He didn't know why he hadn't signed - he had looked at them - mostly from a distance, where they had been sitting since he first received them - on the table next to the door. He couldn't explain to her why he hadn't done it yet.

After that conversation somehow turned into a twenty minute argument, he was not only in a bad mood, but late for work - he skipped breakfast and rushed to his car, only to hit traffic within five minutes of leaving.

He cursed, when startled from his thoughts by the ring of his cell phone, he glanced at the display and saw that Cragen was calling.

"Stabler," he answered, trying not to let the frustration he felt that morning show in his voice.

_Captain Cragen gave him the location of a victim - raped and left for dead in her home, while, assumingly unknown to her attacker, her six year old daughter remained hidden in a closet._

_He apologised for running late and made his way straight to the crime scene._

Another bleak case awaited him, and after months of having no contact with Olivia, the cases had begun to feel bleaker, but that had started to change again. He smiled slightly for the first time that morning as he thought about her :

_Olivia Benson was back in his life._

He felt a stab of guilt for feeling such warmth and reassurance at the thought of her, but he tried not to think about that too much. Taking apart those feelings was complicated and he didn't have the headspace to try to do that right now…

_All he knew was that she was back, and things were starting to feel comfortable between them again. He had fallen into an uncomfortable acceptance at the lack of her presence, both in the precinct, and in his life, but she was back, and everything just felt that little bit lighter..._

As Elliot parked on the opposite side of the road he spotted her standing by a car. He caught a glimpse, and noticed that she was leaning down slightly, talking to a child who was seated in a squad car. He shifted his position slightly so that only Olivia was in his immediate field of vision, because his mind was set - the choice may as well have been set in stone :

_He would prolong opening himself up to whatever horror was inside that apartment, and now in the mind of that child, if he could, for a moment, just watch Olivia._

He felt a guilty pang at watching her like this, but it was hardly inappropriate - she wasn't in the locker room after all, she was at a crime scene, and just taking a moment to let her empathy and compassion warm him from a distance, could surely do no harm to anyone else.

She stood up, a slight smile of reassurance, and spoke a few words, before closing the car door and turning to talk to the uniformed officer.

Unbuckling his seat belt, he prepared to leave his car, but let his hand linger on the door handle for a moment longer as he watched her walk back inside the building.

He allowed himself to watch her until she had disappeared inside the building, and then he gave a sigh as he opened his car door. The sound of it closing behind him changed his mood, and he stood up straight and began to walk over to the entrance, ready to face whatever horror was inside that building.

**APARTMENT OF MADELINE THOMPSON.**

He walked briskly over to the building, it was already attracting a lot of attention, with members of the public gathering around the taped off entrance to the apartment building. His eyes wandered over the people gathered, and then rested on the entrance. Approaching the barrier, he pulled his jacket back slightly, revealing his badge to identify himself and then went underneath the tape.

He noticed immediately that this was going to be a messy crime scene. There was blood on the door frame, and along the floor, leading to the victims apartment.

He didn't need to ask where the victim had been found - a door was open and as he approached he could see more blood stains, and a buzz of activity from police and crime scene officers.

_Wasting no more time, Elliot walked into the apartment._

Olivia was talking to an officer, and writing something down in her notebook. She looked up as he entered and their eyes briefly met, an unspoken acknowledgement passed between them that this was bad.

"Madeline Thompson, age 29, lives alone with her six year old daughter. She was attacked sometime last night - raped and badly beaten. Someone really did a number on her - multiple stab wounds - her blood is literally smeared all over this apartment, with most of it concentrated in here," Olivia said, as she moved over to stand next to him.

"Who called it in?" Elliot asked, as he looked at the largest concentration of blood, on the couch.

Olivia sighed.

"Her daughter. She stayed in the closet throughout this, but saw a lot of what happened through the slats in the door."

"Christ," Elliot said.

"_She saw all this_? How is she?"

"Unharmed physically, but who knows how this will effect her. She was calm enough to talk with some clarity just now - I don't think the reality has hit her yet."

"_All this blood belongs to the vic and she is still alive_?" Elliot asked, as he let his eyes take in the messy crime scene, the apartment had become.

"So far it's looking that way. She's alive, but she's critical. She was taken in thirty minutes ago. EMT's had to do a lot of work here before they could even move her," Olivia sighed.

"That poor kid," Elliot said, as he surveyed the crime scene.

**PRECINCT**

Olivia sat at a small desk with the little girl, while outside, Elliot observed from behind the two way mirror. There were crayons scattered around the table, and loose sheets of paper that Sarah had been drawing patterns on. She had not spoken at all since their conversation in the car that morning, but she was talking again now that Olivia had joined her in the room.

"I can get you something to eat soon - what's your favourite?" Olivia asked.

"Pizza, but I'm not that hungry," Sarah replied, swirling her crayon around on the paper, and leaving big green spirals on the white paper.

"I need to talk to you about the person who hurt your mom honey. I know this is horrible to think about, but my friends and I want to catch whoever did this, and put them in prison." Olivia said, her voice emanating warmth and compassion.

Sarah tensed as soon as her mother was mentioned, her hand pausing as she put her crayon down and stared at the edge of the table.

"Did you see who hurt your mom Sarah?"

"Yeah. I mean I didn't know him. I just know it was a man I hadn't seen before, he was big, real tall, and he said her name and said bad things to her. He hurt her, she was bleeding, and I was so scared. I just hid, I didn't help her," Sarah's voice began to take on a panicky tone.

Olivia hated making her talk about something which terrified her so much, but the only way that she could help Sarah would be to find out what she remembered.

"If you had tried to help her, he might have hurt you too, your mom would not have wanted that sweetie. You did the right thing, you kept quiet and safe, and i'm sure that is what your mom would have wanted you to do. She will be so proud of you."

"I'm scared Olivia," Sarah said, tears brimming in her eyes.

"He tried to kill my mommy, will he try and kill me too?"

"We will keep you safe, we will catch this man, and we wont let anyone hurt you Sarah," promised Olivia.

"Everyone says my mommy is still asleep - when will she wake up?" Sarah asked, her voice shaking.

"The doctors are working real hard to help her Sarah," Olivia reassured her.

They were both silent for a moment, and then Sarah stood suddenly and moved quickly toward Olivia, throwing her arms around her and burying her face in Oliva's shirt. Olivia could only hold her as she began to sob. Her heart broke for Sarah, but she spoke slowly and quietly to her, asking her questions, and held her tighter as she began to describe the attack in detail.

When Sarah had told her everything that she could remember, Olivia remained with her, holding her, and then once she had calmed, she continued sitting with, talking softly to her and reassuring her. Olivia did not leave until arrangements were made for Sarah and someone had arrived to take her.

Elliot had heard the girl's vivid, detailed description, of the brutal rape and attempted murder of her mother from behind the mirror, and as soon as he saw Sarah leave with Child Protective Services, he looked for Olivia. Noticing that she was not in the interview room, he went to the crib where he found her.

Olivia laid on a bunk, staring at the ceiling, Cragen had told her to get some rest, but she couldn't close her eyes and sleep when they were so early into the investigation. Her mind whirred with possibilities - who the suspect may be, his motive, whether Sarah really would be in any danger. Mostly though, her thoughts were filled with Sarah and the horror that she had witnessed. Olivia felt tired. Physically she could not shut off and sleep, but her mind and her heart were just plain exhausted from holding Sarah while she sobbed and described every sordid, violent detail of something that no child should ever see. Olivia needed to shake off these feelings so that she could get back to work and get the bastard that had caused all this, but right now, _all that she felt was profoundly saddened._

She looked up as Elliot walked in, and sat down on the bunk opposite her. She knew that he had heard Sarah's words also, and would be the only person who would have the slightest idea of how she felt at this moment. His presence was a comfort just in itself, and a part of her wanted to move over and sit next to him, rest her head on his shoulder and relax her body into his. She felt wrong, very wrong at that moment, to be allowing herself to desire his physical presence, but as she allowed her eyes to meet his, her need only intensified, as did the guilt which came with it. She wanted to just push these feelings aside, he was Elliot - he was so many things to her, and crossing such physical boundaries would be wholly inappropriate and would be sure to damage their relationship, he meant far too much to her to risk that. With his divorce impending, she was aware that what he needed from her was support - not her dependence on him emotionally.

_Damn it - she just wanted him to hold her right now and do something to ease this pain even just a little bit, because it was just so hard to shake it off and not become consumed by it when a child was involved._

Olivia took a deep breath. letting it out slowly.

"I just need some time to get myself together. It was hard for Sarah in there."

Elliot watched her carefully as she spoke, his expression full of empathy but also determination. She knew he would ask her how she was, she knew he had seen her try hard not to cry along with Sarah. She had done an epic job of withholding her tears as she held Sarah and did her best to be strong for her as she sobbed and recounted such horror, but she felt so deflated and tired.

"Are you ok Liv?" Elliot asked quietly, not taking his eyes away from hers as he waited for an answer.

When he looked at her so intently, she felt that he was trying to look right inside her, and see her feelings for himself, knowing that she would not easily let them come out or even admit to them.

Olivia sighed.

"El, really i'm fine, i just need a moment to process everything she said."

"Maybe don't process it. Don't take it all in - you want to help her, but all we can do is hunt this son of a bitch down. It'll consume you Liv, it's too much."

He stood and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I got take out, it's on your desk," He said.

Olivia instinctively reached out to her shoulder, and placed her hand on Elliots. He squeezed her shoulder gently and she tightened her hold on his hand. They remained there for a moment, both reluctant to leave the warmth of the others touch, before Olivia stood, Elliot's hand falling away from her shoulder as she rose.

"Chinese?" Olivia said, feeling a little more composed.

"Yep, let's eat," Elliot placed his hand lightly on her back for a brief moment as she stood, guiding her towards the door, then dropped his hand, following her out of the room.

**In the next chapter - the case becomes more complicated when they have another attack to deal with, and Olivia makes a discovery which gets Elliot worried.**


	2. Chapter 2

**No copyright infringement intended - to my great sorrow, I do not own these wonderful characters. Thank you for your reviews and follows, I really appreciate the support. I'm pretty new here, so it means a lot!**

**TUESDAY**

The next day started off more positively - Elliot ignored the ringing of his home phone, taking a mental note that the voicemail light had been flashing since the night before. He had been awake for two hours, oddly unable to get back to sleep despite the exhaustion he felt.

He turned on his answerphone.

"You have two messages," said the electronic voice, "Message One, sent Monday, at Seven pm."

"_Elliot, its Kathy, we need to talk - call me back."_

"Message 2, sent Tuesday, at 8pm."

"_Elliot, please stop avoiding me, I don't want to communicate through lawyers! Can we just talk this through together? Come on Elliot, I need you to sign and we need to discuss the house. Just call me back please, this is only hard if we make it that way."_

"End of messages..."

_Beeeeeep._

Content that he had not missed a message relating to any of the kids, he grabbed his keys and left the house, feeling somewhat triumphant that he was going to make it out of the house and get to work on time that day.

**PRECINCT**

As soon as he exited the lift he could tell it was not going to be a quiet day, and he had conflicting emotions about that. He hated the silence in his apartment - he wasn't used to being alone, but the activity in the squad room only meant other people's pain.

The day before had been full of pain - interviewing the child - albeit not directly, rather watching Olivia interview the child. It was still hard to listen to though.

They examined crime scene photos, and together with the girls statement it painted a very grim picture. He didn't want another day of taking on board a child's grief - it felt too hard to deal with, too raw. He knew if he had to do it, he would though. He silently prayed for a lead - something to chase, away from the bloodied living room where a five year old watched her mother brutally violated and left for dead.

His prayers were answered straight away, and his spirits lifted.

As he walked over to his desk, he didn't have time to sit down as Olivia approached with two cups of coffee in takeout cups. She handed one to him.

"We're headed straight out - a threatening email was found on the vics computer - Munch located the sender, an ex boyfriend."

Elliot gave a small smile, glad to have a suspect to chase.

"Thank me later then!" Munch joked as Elliot and Olivia began to walk away. Olivia looked back and gave him a small smile of gratitude - before turning back and leaving with Elliot.

Olivia had found the previous day draining, and just hadn't been able to switch her thoughts off when she had got home. Talking to the little girl, gaining her trust and helping her open up and describe something no child should ever see, was draining emotionally - Olivia was therefore equally as relieved as her partner to have a suspect to bring in.

They sat in the car, Elliot in the driving seat, a comfortable silence between them, but both preoccupied with the case - it was always that way when a child was involved. They both wanted justice, but equally they knew what ever justice was ultimately metered out, it would never really be enough. All they could do was their best, for the child.

"Should be there in 10 minutes," Elliot said.

"Kathy called me last night," Olivia said.

"Kathy? Why?" Elliot asked, surprised.

"She said she's been calling you and you're not getting back to her. She asked me to tell you to call her today," Olivia said, a gentle edge to her voice.

"Ah...yeah, I have maybe missed her calls...a few times. She shouldn't be calling you though, sorry Liv, I'll call her."

"Why aren't you returning her calls?" Olivia asked, regretting asking almost as soon as the words left her mouth. It was clearly an issue Elliot had to work through.

Elliot gripped the steering wheel a little harder, and accelerated as he noticed the light ahead was still green.

"You want the truth?" he asked.

"Why not?" smiled Olivia.

"Damn it," he cursed as the light changed and he was forced to wait in the traffic.

"Thought I'd make it," he said, watching the road ahead.

"So...why?" Olivia asked

"Is 'I don't know' a crappy answer?" Elliot asked, looking at her.

"Call her, El," Olivia said gently.

"Well.." Elliot began as the lights once again changed, and they were on the move again,

"I have to eventually."

Olivia turned to look out of the window, and Elliot glanced at her as they drove - he didn't want to think about the complications of his failing marriage, or face the messiness of the life he and Kathy had built together for twenty two years falling apart. He wanted to just steal a glance at Olivia, smile at her, thank her for her concern, for talking to his wife when he wasn't even prepared to. God, Olivia was amazing, he could face the outcome of his impending divorce, hell he could face anything as long as he had her at his side.

Concentrating on the road, he turned left and continued towards the suspects place of work.

**OFFICE BUILDING OF SAMUEL MCKINLEY.**

They walked into the non descript office building, and after speaking to the desk clerk, they were soon in the elevator and on their way to the suspect.

As they stood side by side in the elevator, Olivia's thoughts were filled mainly with the case - the different angles they would approach the interview from and what kind of person Sam McKinley was. Her thoughts briefly turned to her partner and best friend, who was clearly struggling with his divorce and all the issues that would surround that. She hoped that he would open up to her and let her help him in whatever way he needed, but neither of them would be able to take the time to deal with any personal stuff until the attacker of the little girls mother had been found. They could not change what had happened - never take that horrible violent scene from that little girls mind, but at least they would be able to tell her that she was safe and didn't have to be scared that he would come after her too.

Olivia and Elliot entered the office, which contained ten desks spread over a large open plan area, and after asking at the first desk they were quickly pointed in the direction of Samuel McKinley. On their approach he looked up and when he realised they were approaching him, he stood up quickly.

"Samuel McKinley?" Elliot asked, showing his police ID.

Samuel McKinley panicked. He turned and ran towards the rear of the building and Olivia and Elliot took off in pursuit. They soon caught up with him, and shouted for him to stop, but he was trying hard to reach the fire escape which was at that point, a few yards ahead of him.

_"Stop! Police!" _Olivia shouted.

Elliot reached him first and grabbed him, slamming down to the ground with him as he attempted to stop him from running further.

Samuel Mckinley was still putting up quite the struggle and managed to wrench an arm free and take a swing, connecting with Elliott's jaw.

Olivia reached them and used her body weight to push him further to the ground, placing a knee in his back. They soon had him cuffed, and pulled him up.

"You've got nothing on me, you can't arrest me!" He shouted.

"We just wanted to ask you a few questions Mr McKinley - but assaulting a police officer is a pretty good reason to arrest you," Olivia smirked.

"Why'd you run?" Elliot asked, rubbing his jaw.

"I have the right to remain silent don't I? Then I have nothing to say," Samuel smiled smugly in response.

**PRECINCT**

Olivia stood against the wall, while Elliot sat at the desk across from Samuel. He spoke only to confirm his name, but would not answer any other questions. He had refused offers of food or drink, but had eventually accepted a bottle of water. He was remaining determined in his silence however. They were aware that time was running out, but were getting nowhere. A knock on the window disturbed the stalemate within the interrogation room, and Olivia and Elliot exited to see Casey Novak.

"We have two hours, then we have to let him go - he hasn't asked for a lawyer?" Casey asked.

"No, I was sure that would have been the first thing he said once we got him in," Elliot said.

"What about his prints?" Casey asked.

"The heats been cranked right up, he went hours before accepting a drink. He caved eventually," Elliot said.

"There was DNA from bodily fluids, and prints at the scene- he wasn't careful at all. Prints from McKinley are being run now, if he's good for this, we'll know soon," Olivia added.

"Already done guys," Munch said, as he approached with Cragen.

"We don't have a match with the crime scene," he continued.

"He's not our perp," Cragen said.

"He's not our perp, but he's still not going home: Samuel McKinley, outstanding warrants for drug dealing charges, and skipping bail. That's why he neglected to come along nicely with you," Munch said.

"There's been another murder, same M.O. Melinda's on the scene and puts the time of death just 6 hours ago," Cragen continued.

"While our esteemed drug dealer here has been enjoying our hospitality," Munch said.

Olivia sighed looking back at the suspect through the mirror.

"He's not the attacker then. I hoped we could tell Sarah it was over now." Olivia said, disappointed.

"_Killer_, Olivia." said Cragen.

Olivia and Elliot both turned to look at him.

"Madeline Thompson died an hour ago," he continued.

Olivia closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall, taking a steadying breath. She opened her eyes and looked at Elliot.

"Guess I won't be telling Sarah it's over then," she said sadly.

**APARTMENT OF CONNIE CLARKSON**

Olivia and Elliot entered the taped off apartment, greeting the officer who was stationed at the door. As they entered they could not miss the blood smeared across the walls in long streaks.

Melinda Warner approached them, carefully taking off blood covered gloves, as she walked over.

"Someone with a considerable amount of blood on their hands, basically placed their hands on the walls on either side of this hallway, their palms against the surface, and ran their hands along the length of the walls. There are clear bloody hand prints over there, by the living room, and the blood is thinner towards here by the doorway, when the blood was mostly wiped from his hands on to the wall. There are smears of blood like patterns by the body."

"The bastard enjoyed this," Elliot said, as they walked into the living room.

"It gets worse in here," Melinda said.

The detectives looked around the living room and immediately understood what Melinda meant. The room had been trashed - furniture turned over, ornaments smashed, curtains ripped, and on the couch, lay the victim.

"Was she killed in the same way as Madeleine Thompson?" Olivia asked.

"She was beaten, there are defensive wounds, and she was raped, but this time it's considerably more gratuitous. Most of these knife wounds were inflicted after her death. There are deep cuts across her body - my initial thought would be that death was caused soon after her external cartoid artery was severed, causing exsanguination. She would have died quickly from massive blood loss - but a lot of this damage had to have been carried out after her death," Melinda continued.

"We're dealing with a real psycho here," Said Fin, as he entered from another room in the apartment.

"What do we know about her Fin?" asked Olivia.

Elliot's cell phone rung, and he stepped back slightly to answer it.

"Stabler," he began, and listened partially to the person on the other end of the phone, while also listening to what Fin had discovered.

"She's single, no children, neighbour says she's lived here for five years, works long hours, so they didn't know her well, but said she was friendly, always said hello. I'm looking through her mail and seeing what else I can find," Fin said.

"Thanks Munch," said Elliot, as he put his phone back in his pocket,

"Munch has been comparing financials for both vics, nothing significant came up. They were both single women, both working in jobs they had held for several years, financially sound. The perp possibly thought that Madeleine Thompson lived alone, as he didn't look for her daughter during the attack," Elliot said.

"So we know who he targets, but we're no closer to finding out who he is, or if he is going to kill again," Olivia sighed.

"Or what's motivating him to rape and kill these women," Elliot added.

"We'll go through her phone records and emails, we gotta catch a break here soon," Fin said.

Olivia looked at her partner, as Fin continued his search of the victim's apartment.

"I'm going to see Sarah, she needs to hear about her mother," Olivia said quietly.

"I'll drive you Liv," he said.

Later that evening, Elliot pulled up outside Olivia's apartment off the engine, he turned to look at her. It had been another trying day. Olivia had wanted to tell Sarah about her mother's death personally. He understood why - Sarah had only felt comfortable with Olivia, and had opened up to her, sharing the horrific details of something that would haunt her forever. He knew the toll that would take emotionally on Olivia however. She hadn't spoken about it when she came back from visiting Sarah, but had immersed herself in the limited leads they had.

"How you doing Liv?" He asked quietly.

Olivia sighed.

"I'm fine El, I just need to rest, and get back to work tomorrow, so we can get moving on finding some real leads.

"Wanna get some take out?" he asked.

"I'm not hungry, I just need to sleep," Olivia replied,

"It's 10 PM, we both gotta eat, let's order something, eat, then we can both call it a night," Elliot suggested.

"OK El," Olivia sighed.

They remained silent as they walked up to Olivia's apartment, both immersed in their own thoughts of the case. Elliot glanced at Olivia, as they climbed the stairs - he wanted her to talk to him, share how she was feeling, offload some of the grief she had taken on from the little girl, but he knew getting her to open up would not be easy. He was relieved that she had agreed to get something to eat however, it meant that at least he could stay with her for a bit longer, make sure she didn't skip dinner, and wasn't alone with her thoughts - which he knew would be filled with her own self blame, however misguided that was. She had promised that child that they would catch the guy, that she would be safe, but another woman had died, and she had spent over an hour with Sarah, informing her of her mother's death and no doubt feeling responsible for not being able to tell her that her mother's murderer was still out there, still hurting women. She could not tell her that she was safe yet, and he knew that Olivia would be struggling with that. He just wanted to be there for her, and hoped she knew that he always would be - if she would just let him in.

As they approached her apartment, Olivia suddenly stopped.

"Hold on," she said cautiously.

"What's wrong?" Elliot asked.

"The door," Olivia whispered.

Elliot looked at Oliva's front door and noticed that something had been spray painted on the door. They both drew their guns and approached cautiously.

Olivia placed her hand on the door and pushed slightly, realising that it was open, she glanced at Elliot and they paused, listening for any sound inside her apartment. When they were satisfied that they couldn't hear anyone inside, Elliot nodded and they both entered quickly aiming their guns. They did a quick sweep of Olivia's apartment, and once sure the apartment was clear they both returned to her living room,

"Nothing seems disturbed," Olivia said, confused.

"Why break in, take the time to spray the door outside where they might get seen, but not take anything. This doesn't seem like a burglary Liv."

Olivia walked out of the door, Elliot following her. She pulled the door closed to get a closer look at the graffiti - in red was sprayed a single number.

"Five?" Olivia said.

"Why five?"

Elliot stared at the door, an uneasy feeling creeping up on him.


	3. Chapter 3

**No copyright infringement intended - to my great sorrow, I do not own these wonderful characters.**

**Thank you to those who have reviewed so far; **FayeDVM, inescapela2001, 21oscar21, The Congressman and Roanie123. :-)  
**  
Up next, our two favourite detectives do some talking :-) Later, Elliot makes a startling discovery.**

**CHAPTER 3**

**WEDNESDAY**

_Elliot had been relieved that Olivia had accepted his invitation to get take out. He was concerned about her - more so since the break in at her apartment the previous night. He knew better than to offer to stay over - Olivia would not have appreciated the offer, and taken it as his way of telling her she needed someone looking after her. He wanted to do just that - he wanted to tell her to stay at his place but she was putting up a brave front as always. She didn't seem overly concerned with her safety, but he didn't expect her to be - she was completely focused on the case, and despite going out to eat instead, while the locks were changed and her apartment dusted for prints, she was determined to go home. He secretly wished that it had taken longer to dust her apartment - then he would have taken advantage of her exhaustion and convinced her to stay at his place that night- simply so that he knew she would be safe._

Elliot arrived early at the precinct but was surprised to see Olivia already there when he arrived. He hoped she had managed to get at least some sleep the night before.

She looked up as he came in.

"Morning El."

"Morning Liv, thought I'd be the first one here."

"I had a feeling you'd be here soon - I just got coffee from that new place."

She gestured to his desk, on which sat a cup of coffee.

"The good stuff then? Thanks Liv."

Olivia took a sip of her coffee before placing it back on the table. She paused and looked up, noting that Elliot was looking at her.

"What's up?" she asked, quizzically.

"I have a hunch, just gonna run some checks." He said, as he sat down and picked up a file, opening it and starting to look through it.

"Well, a hunch is probably about the best lead we have now unfortunately," Olivia said.

Elliot couldn't shake his uneasy feeling regarding Oliva's break in. He knew she would quickly shut the conversation down if he expressed concerns for her though, so he kept it to himself, and decided to do some digging. He wasn't even sure what he was looking for, _but he had to know that Olivia was in no danger._

"Liv - did anything seem out of place last night? I know you said it didn't look like anything had been taken, but was anything obviously touched?"

"_El,_" Olivia sighed in frustration.

"I'm sure they heard a noise, thought they'd been discovered and took off before they had a chance to take anything. Don't over think it - we've got more important things to do."

Elliot went back to reading through the case file and sipping his coffee, before returning his gaze across his desk to Olivia.

"The graffiti though - what do you think it meant?"

"Graffiti?" asked Munch as he entered, taking off his coat.

"Liv's apartment was broken into last night, nothing taken but the door was busted and they had spray painted the number five on it," Elliot said, leaning back in his chair, pleased to have someone who was prepared to listen.

"It doesn't mean anything Elliot!" Olivia said, sounding somewhat exasperated.

Munch watched the exchange between them as he poured his coffee, and then sat down at his desk.

"The number five could well be very significant."

Olivia rolled her eyes and looked back at her computer screen, bringing up the crime scene photos and visually scanning the two victims rooms for anything they might have missed.

Fin arrived, walking straight towards his desk and sat down, looking over to Elliot who shrugged and smirked at Munch. Fin displayed little apparent interest as he switched on his computer.

Unfazed by his lack of an audience, Munch continued.

"The number five has had many meanings throughout history. Medieval knights lived by five virtues - several end of the world predictions have been for dates in may- in fact at least three on the fifth of May. There's also the significance to cults - the pentagram has five points - while it is often considered a symbol of protection, sometimes, due to the mystical association, cults adopt it as their symbol."

"So it's the end of the world and someone wants Olivia to know - OR, Olivia is being stalked by a cult?" Elliot said feigning seriousness.

"EL! Stop! A cult did not break into my apartment! Lets worry about Madeline and Connie's killer instead, OK?"

Elliot looked at her for a second, registering her agitation, and realised that this was not the time to push her or make jokes.

"Sure Liv," he replied, not intending for one minute to just let the issue slide.

Fin sat back in his chair and looked at Munch.

"A cult wants Liv to know the end of the world is nigh...man thats whack, even for you," he said, shaking his head.

"There better be some decent coffee around here today - gonna need it!" Fin continued, returning his focus to his computer screen

_The day was spent examining both cases, comparing similarities and searching for any connection between the victims. Apart from basic similarities between the two women, there was little to go on - nothing that could connect them to their killer._

_The detectives were all frustrated by the lack of progress, the perps method of selecting his victims was still not known, and following hunches, while at that point their only lead, was proving futile. The day had been spent with the second victims family - notifying them and looking for connections with the killer. None had been found._

Munch came out of a nearby room with an elderly woman who had clearly been crying. She appeared very shaken and had a tight hold on Munch's arm. He walked her over to a uniformed officer, introduced her, and placed his hand on her arm in a gesture of comfort as he told her that the officer would take her home.

He walked back to his desk and sat down just as Olivia placed a fresh cup of coffee down in front of him.

"Thanks Liv, there is never an easy way to notify a relative. She was devastated."

"Head home guys, lets start again tomorrow - the break will come," said Cragen, as he closed the door to his office and walked past them.

"Good idea, night Cap," Elliot said.

"Who's up for a drink?" Fin asked.

"Absolutely," Munch said, standing up.

Elliot stood up, putting on his coat.

"You coming Liv?" he asked.

"OK, i'll be right behind you - meet you there," she said.

"I'll wait, see you there," he said, looking towards Fin and Munch.

"OK," Munch said, as he and Fin left the squad room.

Olivia sat back in her chair and looked at Elliot. He was quite clearly making a show of looking busy - she was sure he thought that his act was convincing, and she felt mildly annoyed that he seemed to think that she needed him to wait for her. She knew that he was being overprotective, and the break in at her apartment had probably intensified his usual propensity to look out for her. A part of her felt insulted - assuming that he thought she couldn't take care of herself. The other part however, felt secretly grateful for his concern.

_They had all gone out, grabbed some food and had a drink, but it did not feel like a social occasion. Their minds firmly on the case, they had soon shared their thoughts, and rehashed theories. It had been a welcome break from the squad room, but Olivia in particular just wanted to get home. Elliot had insisted on walking her home, despite the fact the bar was a two minute walk from her apartment building. She felt too tired to protest this time, and had grabbed her coat and headed out with him._

Soon they were walking, side by side, in the direction of Olivia's apartment. It was a brief walk, and they quickly arrived at her building. Elliot turned to face her, but didn't speak.

"You OK?" she asked.

"It's been a crappy day," Elliot replied.

"Coffee?" she asked.

"Thanks," he replied, silently quite grateful that she had asked him.

Once they were inside the apartment, Olivia moved into the kitchen, grabbing a mug and started to make coffee. Elliot leaned against the counter, and watched her, noting that she poured herself a glass of water. He remained immersed in his thoughts as his mind drifted to the events of the last few months. His separation with Kathy, Olivia leaving - he had lost a lot, and Olivia leaving was hard to bear on top of it all.

They were standing a metre apart, but it felt like a chasm between them. He was hurting, and she was there for him, as always. He wanted to go over to her and hold her in his arms - he wondered what she would do if he did that. He wondered if she would push him away, turn and leave him again, or if she would let him. One metre - just a couple of steps to close that distance and reach for her…..

"Elliot!" she said suddenly, snapping him from his thoughts.

"Sorry Liv," he replied and swallowed, noticing that she had partially crossed that chasm between them and was standing much closer.

In the rational part of his mind, he knew that she was handing him his coffee - he was aware of the steam rising from the cup, but he was fixed in place, motionless and silent, as he looked into her eyes. He felt for a moment, that if he did take that one step - perhaps she would not run, perhaps she would just let him hold her. Unable to allow himself to take that step, but equally as unable to move away, he remained still.

Olivia winced slightly as the heat from the coffee cup began to feel uncomfortable in her hands. She tried to move her eyes away from Elliot's, but she found herself locked in his gaze. She began to feel slightly uncomfortable, and felt that she should say or do something to break the awkwardness she felt at that moment.

"El….your coffee," she whispered, unsure of why she found it so hard to speak all of a sudden.

"Thanks," he said, as he took the cup by the handle, placing it on the counter.

"Liv…" he began, as he took a deep breath and reached out, taking one of her hands in his.

She stiffened slightly in surprise at the sudden physical contact, but he was relieved to feel her relax a little as he spoke.

"I called Kathy. We talked. I signed the divorce papers this morning."

"You signed? I thought you and Kathy would work it out - are you OK?" Olivia asked softly.

Olivia felt a slight shiver as she stood face to face with Elliot, his hand holding hers, as they talked about his divorce. She admonished herself for being so acutely aware of their physical contact, and for her response, which she hoped Elliot was not aware of. Feeling confused, at the sudden intimate gesture, she tried to focus on his words as he spoke, and remind herself that he initiated this simple, yet somehow searingly intimate act, but he was opening up, needing a friend at that moment, and reading more into his intentions was not what she felt she should be doing. Despite her best intentions she could not help but respond to the feel of his hand, and close her own gently around his, making the act quite mutual.

"I don't know where my head is at right now, I didn't think things would ever change, and now I don't come home to Kathy and the kids - or even to my house. _I don't know how to feel about that,_" he said, his voice taking an uncertain tone that Olivia had rarely heard before.

"You're not supposed to just shrug it off - it's a major life change El. You're not supposed to just be OK with it all," she said softly.

"When you left - _I was out of line, I know that -_ but when you left, it hurt Liv. I thought when you came back that we were good, that we could just go back to the way we were. When you left again - I just wanted to know you were OK - I wanted to talk to you, to know where you were, you didn't even call..."

"It wasn't that easy to just pick up the phone El….._but I know_….I missed you."

"I need to know that you are not leaving me again Liv - I… _need you in my life,_" he said quietly, as he looked into her eyes once again.

"I'm not going anywhere…..and I missed you too," she said, as she met his eyes.

He let go of her hand, and stepped back, giving her a little more space, and she instantly felt a loss as the warmth of his hand left hers.

"El…." Olivia began, but was interrupted by the sound of her cell phone ringing on the counter.

She glanced at the display.

"It's Cragen," she said, as she picked it up, her voice shaking slightly as she spoke.

Taking a breath to compose herself, she picked up the phone.

"Benson," she said, her voice betraying none of the confused feelings she was battling to push down.

Elliot moved into her living room and looked around as she continued talking in the background. He noticed the things about her apartment which made it uniquely hers - the photos in frames on the walls, her blanket across the couch..._the couch, where he had slept not that long ago._ After an argument with Kathy - she needed space, and he turned to Olivia. He had messed up badly - said things he could never take back - the Gitano case had been horrible, and he had nearly lost her after that. She did leave, but even so, he knew that she would be back - _or he feared that she might not_, and so he came to her when he had nowhere else to go. She let him in and he stayed on her couch that night, despite everything, _when one of them needed the other, they always came through_.

She had left SVU - the place where he knew her heart was, because of him, he had hurt her - he knew that, but she gave him a place to stay with no hesitation.

Then she left, and he remained, _without her_. He was hurt, and full of self blame, but with an equal measure of anger toward her at first. Eventually though, after all the emotions had dissipated, and he came to a quiet acceptance that it would do no good to keep dialing her number. He simply waited, trusting that she would return to SVU, and therefore to him.

Suddenly aware that she had ended her conversation, he looked around to see her putting her cell phone in her pocket, and turning towards him.

"Another vic?" he said.

"Yeah, Melinda said there's something we should see," Olivia said.

Elliot walked over to join her at the door.

"Liv…._I missed us_….our friendship, our partnership…." he said, before pausing as he stepped closer to her.

"..._you,_" he whispered.

"Me too," Olivia said quietly, with a small smile.

Elliot returned her smile, and they allowed themselves to remain in that moment briefly, delaying their return to another scene of a violent aftermath.

"Come on then partner, let's go," Olivia said, as she opened her door.

**APARTMENT OF CLAIRE WILLIAMS**

The detectives stood with Melinda Warner as she summarised her immediate findings. The victim had been attacked in a similar manner - the gratuitous display, predictably more extravagant. The apartment had been ran sacked - furniture broken and curtains torn down - one of which was draped over the victim's body on the couch they now stood next to.

"She bled out quickly, the same as the other victims, and there were several deep cuts made after she died - she has been positioned here - the place of death was probably the bathroom as there are bloody drag marks leading from there."

"Was she raped?" asked Elliot.

"Yes, the attack is very similar to the other two - but there is one exception. In her hand…" Melinda said, as she pulled back the curtain covering the body, and carefully opened the victims left hand.

"In the centre of her palm is a small number, written in ink - she may have written it herself - but her hand was tightly balled up - her right hand isn't - her nails have dug into her flesh - my initial assumption is that her hand was pressed in to a fist."

"What does it say?" asked Olivia…."Is it a phone number?"

"No," said Melinda.

"You'll need to look closely, it's very small."

Olivia leaned forward to get a better look.

"3…" she said, looking at Elliot.

"He's leaving us clues now?"

Elliot paused, feeling suddenly cold and nauseous as he looked at Olivia, who appeared totally unfazed by the unsettling connection to her break in.

He took a deep breath and decided not to push it at that moment.

"This sick bastard is leaving us clues like some kind of scavenger hunt," Elliot said.

**PRECINCT**

Elliot sat at his desk, across from Olivia, photos of the crime scenes spread out in front of him, as he stared at them. Olivia sat back in her chair and turned to Munch.

"John, do you have the footage from the cameras at Claire Williams building?"

"Yes, she's the only one who went in or out of her apartment in the previous week," he said.

"We might need to go back further. Madeline Thompson had a break in 4 weeks ago, and Connie Clarkson lost her keys - the super said she had the locks changed around 3 weeks ago….he's getting into these women's homes up to a month before he attacks them. I'm betting he somehow gained access to Claire Williams apartment too."

"Olivia….." Elliot said, his tone low and almost unnerving.

"We didn't link it before because Connie Clarkson hadn't reported a break in, but.." she continued.

"Olivia…" Elliot repeated, as he stood, the concern and seriousness in his voice impossible to ignore.

Olivia stopped and looked at him as he placed photos of the last two victims on her desk.

"Photo of Claire Williams today - the number in her hand is a 3 - she's the third victim."

Olivia appeared slightly tense - Elliot knew that to everyone else she would appear totally composed, but he could see the slight shift in her demeanour.

He continued talking, his voice taking on a tone of concern and urgency.

"We didn't spot it because we weren't looking for it….. but in this picture, next to the couch is coffee table - it's a mess, but look closely."

He handed the photo to Olivia, who took it and let her eyes drift from Elliot, on to the photo.

"The number 2 is etched into the surface of the table in front of her. He's telling us in this sick game that he's playing, that she's the second victim. Do you see it?" he paused, ensuring that Olivia was taking his words in.

"Yeah….I see it," Olivia said quietly.

"Olivia...he broke into these women's apartments weeks before attacking them…..he's counting his victims….don't tell me it means nothing now….this son of a bitch has sent us a message - _he's planning on making you the fifth victim_."

**Chapter 4 is well on the way, and there will be some twists and turns coming up!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you to those who have reviewed and followed, and welcome to the new followers :-) This chapter moves the investigation on a bit and some EO friendship.**

**CHAPTER 4**

**PRECINCT**

Elliot glanced yet again at Cragen's office. Olivia had been in there for over twenty minutes, and he knew that she would be minimising the situation, trying to convince Cragen that she should not be a focus of the investigation. He hoped that she would not be stubborn about this - realise the potential danger she was in - and accept she didn't need to, and couldn't, just take care of the threat alone or play it down. Somehow though, he doubted that Olivia's response would be the one he wanted.

Moments later, the door opened and Olivia stormed out, walking quickly across the squad room - the annoyance and frustration she felt quite obvious. He looked at her, following her with his eyes as she walked past their desks, and up to the crib. He let her go, but once out of his sight, he stood up, intending to go after her.

"Elliot."

Cragen's voice stopped him, and he turned to look at him.

"_Leave Olivia for now_. I have agreed not to take her off the case, but she doesn't go out in the field alone."

"She needs a detail Cap."

"She refused," Cragen held his hand up, attempting to silence the impending outburst from Elliot.

"Cap, this psycho has made Olivia one of his targets - we've all seen what he's done to these other women, we can't just let her play this down!"

"Anything else happens that's directed toward her, _and I mean anything_ Elliot, and I'm putting a detail on her, she knows that," Cragen said.

"What if his next move gets her hurt?"

"He's playing a game with us, and he's made it clear that he has someone else targeted - we don't know who the fourth victim will be - he's toying with is, right now he has the upper hand, and we need to change that. Work this Elliot, this case is our priority and we _will_ catch this bastard."

Elliot nodded, annoyed that Olivia wanted to go it alone when a dangerous psychopath had clearly targeted her so blatantly. He made himself a promise that he would talk to her later, but try to give her the space she had instigated first.

**APARTMENT OF OLIVIA BENSON**

Olivia woke suddenly, realising that she was aching and uncomfortable thanks to falling asleep on the couch. She stretched, trying to relieve her sore neck, and stood up, looking down at her coffee table as she realised that her cell phone had started to ring and vibrate.

She looked at the display and noticed firstly that the time was only a little after ten, and then noting that Elliot's name was flashing on the display. She reached down and picked up the phone.

"Benson."

"Just checking in, you sound tired, sorry - did I wake you?" Elliot said.

"Yeah, but i'll thank you for that tomorrow when I don't ache from crashing all night on the sofa….hold on…..you're '_checking in_'?"

"Yeah...everything OK over there?"

"El, everything's fine, I'm fine. There is no need to '_check in_' on me! Don't you think if something was wrong I would have done something about it?" she was losing patience fast, but felt too annoyed to meter her reaction.

"Look, I'm going to feel concerned - you turned down a protection detail, and you are in the sights of some total sicko Olivia! Of course I'm gonna check up on you, and I'm not apologising for it!" Elliot said, as the tone of his voice rose in frustration.

Olivia sighed, running her hand through her hair, and sitting down heavily on the couch.

"I'm going to bed, night Elliot."

"Liv..." Elliot began, but realised that she had already ended the call.

"_Damn it,_" he said.

Olivia reclined on the couch, still holding her cell phone in her hand. She was annoyed that everyone involved in the investigation would now be looking for a connection to her, and waiting for the perp to make his move on her. Olivia wanted simply to catch the perp, she did not want to suddenly have the concern of her colleagues and friends. She knew however, that they would be looking at her tomorrow - looking into any possible links she might have to the perp, and what his motive might be for targeting her. She wasn't concerned for herself - she knew that Elliot was doing plenty of that for both of them.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud, rapid knock at her door. She stood and walked over quickly, feeling annoyed.

"Elliot! _I swear to God_..." she said, opening her door.

She stopped when she noticed that no one was there. Her heart began beating a little faster as she considered who might have knocked. Feeling relieved that she could grab her gun easily, she quickly moved towards her kitchen counter and picked up her keys and gun, before heading out of the door, waiting for it to completely close before she moved away.

It did not take long to sweep the floor, but Olivia could not see anyone else. She felt unnerved, but as nothing seemed out of the ordinary she opted on the side of paranoia, and decided that it was probably someone knocking on the wrong door. Hardly anything to call in backup about. She lowered her gun, but as she turned to go back to her apartment, she caught sight of a small box, no larger than a standard ring box, in front of her door. Approaching it cautiously, while still keeping alert for anybody nearby, she crouched down to take a closer look.

She knew better than to just pick up a potential suspect package, but immediately noticed that the box had a hinged lid, which was left open. Feeling confident that she could see inside, she picked it up and stood up.

Inside the box, was a piece of paper. Olivia felt a growing sense of unease as, unfolding the paper, she turned it over revealing that both sides were completely blank.

Olivia went inside her apartment, closing and locking the door behind her. Once inside she briefly checked her apartment, even though she had not left the door unlocked, but felt happier, being certain that she was alone. Placing the box on the table next to her door, she stood back and stared at it for a moment, feeling a shiver run through her. It meant nothing yet it also meant what she and everyone else feared. The killer was playing games - a blank note while seemingly less worrying than threatening words, somehow made Olivia feel quite unnerved.

She went into her bedroom, placing her phone on the table next to her, and her gun beside it. She felt a certain comfort that no one had been inside her apartment, and considered for a moment that this was perhaps nothing to do with the case, but she knew that this couldn't be ignored.

Feeling considerably less annoyed at Elliot, and considerably more unsettled, she eventually fell asleep.

**THURSDAY**

Munch watched Elliot as he sat at his desk, looking up almost every time someone arrived.

"She'll be here in a minute Stabler, don't let her catch you watching for her, she won't like it!"

Elliot muttered a response which Munch could not hear, and attempted to busy himself with paperwork on his desk, silently taking Munch's advice. He was secretly pleased when Olivia placed her bag down on the desk in front of his, and sat down. He felt quite accomplished in his attempts to not appear to be sitting at his desk just waiting for her to arrive.

"Morning Liv," he smiled.

"Hello," a hesitant sounding voice interrupted them before Olivia had a chance to respond.

"Can I help you?" Olivia asked.

Elliot turned to look at the person who had entered.

He was a man in his thirties, smartly dressed, and walking with a stick.

"I hope so - I saw on the TV, about a woman who was killed. The reporter said there was a lot of blood - I'm worried that my sisters boyfriend...I...think he might have hurt that woman," he said, a nervous edge to his voice.

"Let's go in a more private room so we can talk," Olivia said, as she gestured for the man to follow her. Elliot stood and walked in behind them.

"Please, sit down," Olivia said, gesturing to a chair.

"Thank you," he said.

"I'm Detective Benson, and this is my partner, Detective Stabler," Olivia paused, waiting for the man to offer his name.

"I'm Matthew..Matthew Hutson...Um...this might sound like i'm being paranoid, I mean..." he sighed, sounding frustrated and uncertain.

"Not a problem, just tell us what your concerns are," Elliot said.

"Well, my sister - Emma, she's 19, she was seeing this guy for a few months - he's older than her and I don't like him, but that's not a crime right? Well, they were in her apartment together a few weeks back and he was drinking, he might have been high too - I mean I wouldn't be surprised, you know? Emma's boss called and she went into the kitchen to answer it, she wanted her to work that weekend and he hated her working weekends. He turns to me once she was gone and starts talking bout her boss and how hot she is - _he's dating my sister!" _he paused, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"Are you OK?" Olivia asked.

"I was in a car accident four months ago - I'm mostly OK, but my hip is still painful at times. It's OK, nothing going to help this but time..and a whole lot of physio. I don't have much family, and my sister's all I have right now, she's been a big support these last few months….."

"What makes you think that your sisters boyfriend killed someone?" Elliot asked.

"Well, he was going on about her boss and what he'd like to do with her, you know? Then he starts all this weird shit about how he sees her at the gym, and when she's catching catching the subway to work, and talking about her family, like he knows her. I was pissed off with all that, I mean my sister needs to know what kind of freak she's dating right? ….. but then he started talking about hurting her, how much prettier she'd look if she look if she was bleeding. Freaked me the hell out. We had an argument and I kicked him out. Her boss is that woman who was killed - Connie, I saw her photo on the news."

"Where is your sister now? How can we contact her?" Olivia asked.

"She ended up getting fired - she said she was going to get out of the city, to stay with her friend, but she never got there. I haven't spoken to her since - it's been two weeks - I thought she was pissed at me for the stuff I said about him, but now I'm worried. Since the accident she had not gone more than a week without talking to me," he said.

"Have you filed a missing persons report?" Elliot asked.

"No, I figured if I was coming here anyway, I would report her missing too."

"OK, we can help you with that. What can you tell us about her boyfriend?" Olivia asked.

"Um, well his name is Billy Harmon and he has an apartment near the lower east side I think. I can give you a description?"

_They continued to interview Matthew until they had all all the information that he could remember about Billy Harmon, and took details about Emma. After it was established that he was not on the system and also did not have a driving licence, Matthew gave a description to a sketch artist, who produced a very useful image. After taking his contact details they thanked him for his help, and said that they would need to contact him soon. It was encouraging to finally have some leads to follow up, but with her disappearance, they did not know whether she had become another of his victims._

The detectives immediately convened around a board where the victims photos were displayed. Huang had joined them, and was silently observing the discussion. Olivia was decidedly uncomfortable, hoping that no one would bring up the thoughts that she herself was unable to shake. Unfortunately, Munch did just that.

"If he killed his girlfriend, she could be victim number 4."

"She's not," Olivia said, sounding more defensive that she intended to.

"Why not Liv?" Fin asked, giving his partner a sideways glance.

"Madeline, Connie and Claire were all single women aged around 30-40, they all lived alone, or he thought they did, they each worked in jobs they had held down for years, each were stable financially. Emma is nineteen, and from the information her brother gave us, she was renting an apartment on a short term basis, and she worked in a temporary job. She just doesn't fit - if he killed her, it wasn't in the style of these attacks, I really don't think she is his fourth victim."

"OK, say she's not, then we still have a potential vic to look for - maybe she got in the way, or found out what a sicko her boyfriend was," Fin said.

"Olivia did you find any links going back over your cases?" Cragen said.

"I've put plenty of perps away, I'm sure some would harbour a grudge for that reason, but nobody with this level of gratuitous violence."

"What are we dealing with here George?" Cragen asked.

"By numbering the victims at the time of their deaths, he doesn't offer clues, but a calling card. With the extravagant displays of violence, he is sending a message, that he has accomplished violent acts with no regard for being caught, and yet still managed to evade type of killer shows the anti social personality traits of a psychopath. He is manipulative, plans these attacks well, knowing the routines of his victims and even their neighbours to avoid detection. He is finding pleasure in the power he is wielding over his victims and the game he is playing with us. He knows the victims well, through stalking them covertly, but shows a detachment to them emotionally. He will want to dictate the rules of the game - but may want to make it more challenging, hence targeting one of the detectives investigating him. You need to gain some control in the game - he's clever, he will be hard to trip up."

"How do we trip him up then?" Fin asked.

"His interest in Olivia may be the key here. He hasn't warned any of his victims, so this is part of the game for him. The numbers were left by the bodies after their deaths, but by threatening Olivia in this way, he is taking it in a different direction," Huang continued, turning to look at Olivia.

"He will want to establish contact with you in some way - when he does, that's how we can get into his head."

"So, you're saying we wait for him to make a move on Olivia and then use her as bait?" Elliot said, with obvious displeasure as he crossed his arms, and stared at Huang in disbelief.

Olivia sighed and glanced at Elliot before looking towards Huang.

"He's only leaving numbers at crime scenes…" Munch reiterated.

"He will step that up, he will be stalking you Olivia. He is covert, clever and well planned, but he will know your patterns and know where to find you. He will initiate contact with you before long, he can't help himself. "

Everyone remained silent for a moment, considering Huang's words, as Olivia walked away from the group and over to her desk.

"Well…." she began, hesitantly, anticipating the unwanted attention and reaction that she would undoubtedly be faced with as soon as she filled them all in.

"I think he already has."

"What do you mean Olivia?" asked Cragen, concerned, as he moved toward her.

"Last night there was banging on my door, no one was there, I checked the floor….but when I came back to my apartment this was at my door…" she focused on Cragen, avoiding Elliot's eyes as she reached into her desk drawer, and pulled out the box, handing it to Cragen.

"Liv, why the hell didn't you call me?" Elliot said, angered by Olivia seemingly not taking this as seriously as he was.

"El…" she sighed.

"We know this is a game to him."

"A sick game Liv, you gotta let us watch your back," Fin said.

"I don't want to remind you of this Olivia, but we're not sure which number he's reached right now," Munch added.

Olivia turned to Huang.

"You said yourself, George, he is enjoying the game, he wants to stretch this out."

"I agree with Olivia," he said, before turning to look at her.

"But you must be careful, we know what he's capable of."

"OK folks, we know what we're doing, let's work on finding Emma, and tracking down Billy Harmon," Cragen said as he walked toward his office.

"Liv.." he called, as he remained at the door.

Olivia looked at him, gave a frustrated sigh and walked into his office.

_Over half an hour later, Elliot watched Olivia as she finally left the Captain's office and came over to her desk, sitting down, opposite Elliot._

"I'm going to talk to Sarah and see if she recognises the sketch. It might help her if she sees we are not giving up on this."

Elliot looked at her, giving her the opportunity to speak further. He was filled with frustration and anger at the bastard who had her in his sights. He wanted to tell her she would be safer if she wasn't alone, and to just stay with him, or let him stay with her. He knew she wouldn't go for it - might even resent him for it, but she'd get over that soon enough. He was beginning to feel helpless, unable to ensure her safety and that bothered him more deeply than he realised it would. He promised himself to get to this son of a bitch before he got anywhere near Olivia - he felt quite disturbed that this depraved rapist and killer had left these bizarre messages for her twice now, had probably broken into her apartment, and was no doubt stalking her. It was too much - Olivia needed to accept some help and let someone look out for her - let _him_ look out for her.

He stood up and walked around to her desk, leaning down slightly to speak to her more discreetly.

"Liv, look, I have a spare room, either stay with me or I'll stay with you. _You can't be alone right now_."

"Elliot," She began, turning round in her hair to face him.

"I'm not letting anyone drive me out of my home."

"The let me stay with you - even just for a few days Liv," he said, determined.

"I'm fine El, really. It's not like I've never dealt with a perp stalking me before. Please I don't have the energy for this, I've been arguing with Cragen in there and I just need to clear my head. There'll be a squad car outside my building when I'm home and the rest of the time I'm here, OK?"

"No Liv, that's really not enough! Look, how about this, I come back with you, we get some food, then I'll head home later?" he said.

"You think I won't kick you out when you try and outstay your welcome?" she said with a smile.

"You'd never kick me out Liv - I might just have to crash on your couch if it gets too late though," he replied, returning her smile.

Olivia laughed, relaxing a little.

"Come on then, I'm too hungry to argue my way out of take out."

_Just over thirty minutes later, Olivia sat on her couch, Elliot next to her, boxes of take out spread out across the coffee table in front of them. They had opened a bottle of wine and Olivia, although she wouldn't admit it, was feeling grateful for Elliot's insistence on coming over. She wanted to tell him that he could stay over, that in fact, she would feel much safer, but she felt that those words had no place in her head, yet alone leaving her mouth._

She leaned back into the sofa, as she looked at him.

"I missed this Liv," He began, as he mirrored her position on the couch.

"I eat too much take out," Liv replied, looking away.

"Liv...I just...missed hanging out like this you know. Sometimes, after a rough case, we would just get take out - _I'm just glad we're at this point again,_" he said.

Olivia looked at him, and gave him a small smile.

"That's all i'm saying, I just wanna be here, _with you_ \- not leave you alone while some psycho is planning how to get to you. You'd do the same for me, so let me just be here, with you," he said, looking at her.

"Well, there's no point arguing with you - i'm out of energy after arguing with Cragen. Let's just eat," she said, light heartedly.

They ate in silence for a few moment, before Olivia looked at him, she swallowed and tensed slightly as she spoke.

"I'm glad you're here El," she said, unsure why she felt so much anxiety at saying those words to him.

"No problem Liv...me too," he replied with a smile.

_They continued talking - their conversation a light, comfortable familiarity which warmed them both as they sat together. Neither spoke of their own conflicted feelings, or allowed any anxiety about any of the words that seemed to never come. Both had unspoken apologies, regrets, and fears, but that night they dismissed the complication of it all and just enjoyed the friendship that was the foundation of their relationship for so many years. They both felt stronger and more whole, and relaxed into the simplicity of the moment of just being in the others company._

**Chapter 5 is in progress now - I know exactly where this is going and have a good momentum now, so shouldn't be more than a week at the most between updates. I will try and get the next chapter a bit sooner if I can. It's a bank holiday in the UK tomorrow so I might have a little more time to write. :-)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much to everyone who is reading, I am really immersed in writing this story, so it's greatto be able to share it. In this chapter, prepare for a twist...sorry!**

**CHAPTER 5**

**OLIVIA'S APARTMENT**

Olivia woke to the sound of her cell phone ringing. She gave herself a moment to rouse and then answered.

"Benson."

"Liv, there's been another murder. I'm texting the location. Are you alone?" Cragen said.

"No, Elliot insisted on crashing here last night."

"Good. Leave together, I don't want you alone for a minute. I need Elliot at the crime scene so go with him, but I need you to stay on desk once you get back."

Olivia gave a frustrated sigh.

"OK Captain. I'll go wake Elliot, we'll be there soon."

_Olivia and Elliot had remained mostly silent in the drive to the latest victims house, but the usual comfortable silence which they had only recently began to return to was now punctuated with tension. Olivia drove, and Elliot kept his eyes on the road ahead, stealing the occasional glance at Olivia._

He knew that she would not react well to the thoughts he wanted to express at that moment. He chose to allow her the silence, and not aggravate her by verbalising how concerned he was.

When they were a short distance from the victims apartment they suddenly hit traffic, and were forced to stop. Olivia was irritated - she just wanted to get there and get on with the investigation.

Elliot on the other hand, was pleased for the temporary stall in their journey. He glanced at her as she stared ahead, looking further down the road towards a truck which appeared to be the cause of the delay. He noted her tension - she was on edge and her hand gripping tightly as she shifted the car into neutral.

"Liv - you know I'm a terrible house guest."

"Yeah? You're not so bad really." she replied, her gaze fixed to the road ahead.

_He glanced at her hand, and wondered what she would do if he reached out and placed his on top. If he rubbed small circles across her hand to relieve her tension and show her that she didn't have to be alone in this - she didn't have to be alone in anything, he would always be there_.

"Well..." he said, his eyes not moving up from her hand.

"I'm eating your food and drinking your coffee. I should return the favour. You should stay at mine, and drink my coffee and eat my food for a change."

He meant it to sound light-hearted but he found his voice quiet and soft. He surprised himself at the tone that he had suddenly taken.

Elliot was too filled with concern for her - too filled with a compulsion to reach for her, that he could not stop himself. Throwing every single complicated thought to the wind, he allowed himself to reach out to her and placed his hand gently, but firmly, on top of hers.

Olivia glanced down at his hand covering hers - the warmth from his touch a pleasant distraction. She remained tense however, unsure of how to respond to his gesture.

"El.." Olivia began, but stopped, unable to find the right words as her mind prevented her from forming any.

Her breath hitched as Elliot shifted his hand slightly and began to lightly trace circles on the back of her hand with his fingers. He didn't let himself stop and assess his actions - wouldn't allow himself to think, just to act.

He smiled slightly when he felt Olivia's hand relax under his touch.

For a moment, the sounds of the busy streets outside seemed to fade into the distance, as they both focused on nothing but the feel of the others hand. The silence in the car was almost piercing, as Elliot suddenly slipped his hand underneath hers, holding her hand gently. He glanced at her then, feeling that her tension had subsided considerably, but wanting to be sure that he was not scaring her with his sudden intimacy.

She gently squeezed his hand and sat back in her seat, turning to meet his eyes. He felt his heart rate increasing and wondered suddenly how it would feel to hold her close enough to him to feel her heart beating against his chest. He wondered if she would ever let him, or if she would ever allow him to get any closer to her than she was at this moment.

Elliot traced his thumb lightly across the back of her hand, while he held her hand in a relaxed and gentle grasp. He looked into her eyes, as she leaned her head back comfortably against the headrest, looking at him as she smiled.

They were both lost in that moment, and Elliot smiled back at her, squeezing her hand slightly. She laughed - and the sound filled the car, breaking the silence that had surrounded them.

They were suddenly startled by the loud sound of a car horn behind them. Realising that the traffic had moved and there was a considerable space on the road in front of them, Olivia gave Elliot's hand a quick squeeze and released her grip.

They drove on, the silence between them now so much more lighter and comfortable as they both for once, didn't process their actions, but just allowed themselves that moment.

**APARTMENT OF DEBORAH ALLEN**

They entered the apartment together, and both immediately found their eyes drawn to the victim. She was again, positioned on the couch and the now usual scene of chaos surrounded the body. They stepped over the broken glass of a coffee table and approached Melinda.

"Well this is definitely our perp," Olivia said.

"She was raped and killed in the same manner as the other victims. Again, it appears he picked his moment well, and ensured he had plenty of time here - she has restraint marks and bruising, no defensive wounds though - my guess is that she was restrained throughout the attack." Melinda said.

"Is there a number?" Elliot asked flatly.

"Yes, he took the time to write it in blood." Melinda said, gesturing to the now closed door behind them.

They turned around and walked back toward the door, stopping and staring at the number 4, written in blood on the back of the door.

AT that moment, Elliot's phone began to ring and with a cautious glance at Olivia, he answered.

Olivia was vaguely aware of the sound of Elliot's voice, as he talked on the phone, but but she could not tear her eyes away from the door. Moving closer she stopped and stood, silent and motionless in front of the door, unable to move her eyes away from the large number, written in blood.

Elliot ended his call, and noticed that Olivia had moved closer to the door. Concerned, he walked over to her.

"Liv, Munch and Fin are on their way, let's get out of here."

Getting no response, he walked up to her.

"Hey Liv," he said, placing his hand lightly on her shoulder.

Olivia who was lost in her thoughts, jumped slightly as Elliot's touch startled her from her thoughts.

"Sorry Liv," He said, removing his hand immediately,

"We can head to the station. You OK?"

Olivia opened the door and walked out of the apartment, with Elliot close behind her. Once outside she turned to face him, and spoke.

"You want the truth El?" she asked, a nervous edge to her voice.

"Yeah I do," Elliot replied softly.

"Then no, i'm not...i'm not."

She took a deep breath, and let it out quickly.

"This is getting to me - that's what he wants - I don't wanna give him what he wants."

"Liv, if you weren't worried you wouldn't be human! If some psycho was threatening me I wouldn't just ignore it you know."

Olivia turned and looked at him, and Elliot's concern only deepened when he noticed how drained she appeared.

_"He's killed four women - i'm his endgame El."_

**PRECINCT**

The rest of the morning had been sent investigating Emma Hutson's potential disappearance. The detectives were gathered together as Munch updated them.

"After leaving the the vic's apartment, we visited the diner owned by Connie clarkson. Her brother said that she had worked there but was fired recently. This is where it gets interesting." he paused, as Cragen approached, allowing him time to join them.

"The manager has worked there for over a year and she has not heard of Emma Hutson."

"We checked the personnel records. She wasn't on the payroll, and never had been. No one has been fired in the past six months," Fin added

"When Matthew Hutson filled out the missings persons report, he was very specific. He also said that his sister had been supportive since his accident. All that indicates that they were close. How could he not know the name of the diner where she worked?" Olivia said, with a growing sense of unease.

"Did Connie Clarkson own more than one diner?" Cragen asked.

"No, and he did name this one specifically.." Elliot replied.

"Do we have any evidence that Emma Hutson exists?" Cragen asked.

"This is where it gets creepy," Fin said, just as Huang joined them.

"We found an Emma Hudson, deceased, murdered in a home invasion...in '95. She had a brother Matthew, who was also killed, shot dead at the scene - he and another man had planned to break into the Hutson family home and rob the parents. It went wrong when his accomplice strangled Emma Hutson. The second perp got away, Matthew Hutson pulled a gun on the cops, and they shot him," Munch said.

"So who the hell was that that we sat down and interviewed?" Elliot said.

Cragen looked at Huang.

"George?"

"We need to consider that the man who visited you may have been the perp you are looking for. He has taken on the identity of someone who won't be traced in recent years, and was killed at a time before the majority of people of his age would have been on social media. There won't be much, if any, trail to his life on the internet, and so his cover is harder to disprove. Even if Matthew Hutson is on the system, his record shows he is deceased, so we would simply have assumed that he had the same name. This killer has woven a story to gain your attention and involve himself in the investigation. This type of personality wants to align themselves and get closer to his victims and to those investigating the cases."

Olivia sighed and leaned back against her desk.

"Do we know if Billy Harmon exists?" she asked.

"We're working on that Liv," Fin said

"OK, how about prints at the Hutson murder?" she asked

"Nothing on file," Fin replied.

"Why not? They must have dusted for prints at the scene?" Elliot asked.

"Records were damaged in a fire in '99, along with over three years of evidence from other cases," Munch replied.

"Sarah saw him, if we can show her a photo of Matthew - the man who visited us, she might be able to ID him as her mother's killer," Olivia said,

"OK, let's pull an image from the precinct cameras. Fin?" He said.

"I'm on it Cap." Fin replied as he headed out of the squad room.

Olivia walked around to the other side if her desk and sat down.

"I'll call and set up a meeting with Sarah," she said, as she picked up her phone.

"Munch, keep tracking down who the other perp was in that home invasion, look at who Matthew Hutson was close to, or worked with at the time. Elliot... a word," he said, as turned and walked into his office. Olivia watched as they entered Cragen's office.

"Elliot, I know i dont need to tell you to watch her back right now."

"_You don't_, i've always got her back, even when she doesn't want me to," Elliot said.

"There are two uniforms posted outside her apartment building, they will tail her to and from here. Ensure she goes _nowhere_ alone. Her apartment or here, and that's it. Don't even go to your apartment. Just limit the options for this psycho to get to her Elliot. He has waited for his victims to be alone, so make sure she never is."

"I've got this Cap. She's not gonna go it alone, she gets how dangerous that would be."

"Good."

Olivia knocked and then opened the door, pausing for a moment to take them in, with an almost accusatory glance.

"The liaison is bringing Sarah in. At least if she can ID him she will feel that she is helping us catch him," She said,

Elliot glanced at Cragen who nodded and sat down, as his phone rang and he went picked up the receiver.

Olivia turned and walked back towards her desk. Elliot followed her from the office and kept his eyes on her as she walked slightly ahead of him. He didn't take his eyes off of her as they both sat down, and he continued watching her, waiting for her to look across the desk and meet his eyes.

She looked up, and gave him a quizzical look.

"What's wrong?" She said.

"Liv," He began, leaning forward so that he could talk a little more quietly, and still have her full attention.

She sat slightly more forward in her seat, and waited for him to speak.

"You holding up OK?"

"I'm fine, it's been four days now. Sarah's feelings will still be so raw. I hope it will help her to be able to ID him. It might give her some control back in this nightmare."

Elliot sat back in his chair and made a show of looking at his computer screen. In reality he was taking a moment to take in Olivia's words. She was concerned for Sarah, and wanted to find a way to give her something back after she had lost everything. Giving her this little bit of control was what she hoped would make a difference to Sarah's eventual recovery. He admired that about Olivia - she was in potential danger, a real and frightening threat to her life, _yet she still took time to care about other people_. Elliot couldn't help but feel a warmth as he thought of how much Olivia gave of herself to help the victims.

It took two hours to arrange for Sarah to come to the precinct, and she was able to positively ID the man who had visited them as her mothers killer. Olivia had spent time with her, and told her how proud she was of her for helping them, and how proud her mother would be. She ate pizza with her before she was collected, and hugged her warmly as she left. Elliot was working on identifying the second perp, along with Munch, but he had been aware of Olivia and noticed her interactions with Sarah. When Sarah eventually left, while it was clear that she had a very long way to go, she showed determination. Elliot knew Olivia would be able to take something positive away from that, and for that he was relieved for her.

**APARTMENT OF OLIVIA BENSON**

They sat together on Olivia's couch, as Elliot started to clean up the scattered take out containers from the coffee table.

"Sarah did good Liv, I think you're right. It will help her to know she played a role in ID ing her mother's killer," he said as he picked up the containers and walked to the kitchen, putting them on a counter.

"I want to do more for her - she has seen so much horror and she's only six years old El - _its heartbreaking_."

"You're doing all you can Liv," El reassured her, as he returned, and sat down next to her, placing a hand on her arm and rubbing slightly.

"Want some coffee?" he asked.

"Sure, thanks," Olivia said, and she turned, giving him a slight smile.

Elliot made the coffee and soon returned with two cups, that he placed on the table in front of them. He paused for a moment, then sat down, a little closer to her, but allowing her some space at the same time.

They sat silently for a few moments as they both sipped their coffee. Elliot contemplated putting his arm around her shoulders. He knew she was struggling to hold it together throughout the case, but he was afraid also that such a bold move would be a step too far right now. Deciding to give her some space, he just remained sitting next to her.

Moments later, he was surprised to feel her inch closer and lean into him. He instinctively reacted by moving his arm around her and pulling her closer. She pressed her face into his shoulder and he stilled for a moment, allowing himself to get used to this sudden physical closeness.

He rubbed his hand gently up and down her side, in a comforting gesture, and he was pleased when she didn't back away. They both felt comfortable and secure with the physical closeness which they shared at that moment and so neither broke away. They remained there for a while, until Olivia sat up, and reached for her coffee, but his arm remained around her.

They remained there, allowing themselves to enjoy the others company, until Olivia shifted slightly and Elliot, not wanting to break their contact too suddenly, gave her a gentle squeeze and moved his arm away from her slightly, behind her on the back of the couch.

Olivia sat forward and stretched her arms, stifling a yawn.

"I know you're off soda now, but this coffee Liv….it's pretty dire," Elliot laughed as he leaned back into the sofa, realising that he too, was finding it hard to stay awake.

"Well El….I blame your taste in coffee then," Olivia said, yawning, as she brought her knees up in front of her, and placed her arms, then her head on her knees.

"I gotta crash El, i'm just gonna sleep here…... I don't even wanna move. Thanks for picking up the coffee…..even if was pretty crappy." Olivia said, sleepily.

"You should got to bed Liv, I'll crash on the couch...if that's OK? I'm pretty beat too," he said, standing.

As he stood, he reached for her arm, frowning as he felt quite unsteady.

"Hey Liv, come on….or i'll take your bed and leave you on the couch." he said, as he leaned closer to Olivia, placing one hand on the back of the couch to steady himself.

"Mmmm," Liv mumbled, giving in to sleep.

Elliot looked at her confused for a moment as his groggy mind slowly connected the dots.

"Liv…_.I didn't bring the coffee_….Liv...come on wake up," he said raising his voice as he placed his other hand on her arm, shaking her slightly.

When he got no response, he shook her arm a little harder, and felt the room shift alarmingly. He gripped the back of the couch a little more to keep his balance and kept his focus on Olivia.

"LIV!" he yelled.

"OLIVIA! …._I didn't bring any damn coffee_, what the hell's going on?" he said.

He grabbed her arm, and pulled, then froze in alarm as his slight pull on her arm, caused her to fall and lay on her side, unmoving on the couch.

"OLIVIA!" Elliot shouted, as he dropped to his knees next to the couch, reaching for her, just as he felt a dark cloud loom over his consciousness.

"Liv….. _we've been drugged_, come on….wake up," He said, as he leaned against the couch, his voice much quieter than he intended it to be.

Realising that Olivia was out cold, he tried to fight his own battle with his consciousness and remain alert enough to get to a phone. Glancing around he caught sight of his cellphone on the kitchen counter, as his eyes tried hard to focus on the rapidly blurring and distorted room in front of him.

Managing with every ounce of strength he could muster to get to his feet, Elliot lunged for the kitchen counter, grabbing hold to steady himself as he reached it. As soon as he reached the counter, his legs buckled and he swore, gripping the counter top hard. He let go with one hand and reached across, his fingers just grazing his cell phone. He reached further and his hand contacted with it, just as his body slumped forwards. His hand relaxed, breaking the contact with his phone, as he crumpled down towards the floor. He turned slightly, catching sight of Olivia, unconscious on her couch - the last sight he was able to focus on, before he lost his battle and passed out on her kitchen floor.

**The next two chapters are taking shape really well now, so it shouldn't be long before the next update. What's going to happen when they wake up?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you to everyone who is reviewing, following and messaging. I'm enjoying writing this story and it means a lot to me that I can share it with other fans. :-)**

**Just two episodes left of season 16 to air now - is everyone as excited as me about the finale? That episode title has me worried! I am aiming to be 100% spoiler free so laying low on social media until I see it to avoid being spoiled!**

**CHAPTER 6**

Elliot roused slowly, the continual ringing sound of his cell phone gradually

awakened him. He opened his eyes, blinking to try to clear his blurred vision, turning his head toward the door as a thumping noise caught his attention. He tried to move and managed to shift position slightly and focus a little.

"OLIVIA! ELLIOT! OPEN UP!" the muffled voice from behind the door yelled.

Elliot placed his hands on the floor and pressed, trying to gain some balance to ease himself up, but felt as though his body was far heavier than it should have been to move.

He began to gain more coherence as he was aware of the sound of a door being kicked in, and after two loud bangs, the voices became clearer, as did his focus.

Elliot looked up to see Fin and Munch enter the apartment…._Olivia's apartment_. On seeing them, his head suddenly cleared, and he tried to stand, grabbing the counter top and hoisting himself up. He stood still, leaning heavily against the counter as Fin and Munch approached him.

"Elliot what the hell's going on? Where's Liv?" Fin demanded.

"Liv…" Elliot responded, confused, as he rubbed his hand across his face and took a long, hard look at the couch.

"We were on the couch - she was tired…._shit_...she passed out...where is she?" he said, confused.

"She's not here," said Munch, concerned as he returned from checking the other rooms.

"Stabler, pull it together and think, _what happened? What happened to Liv_?" Fin said in frustration, as he took a firm hold of Elliot's shoulders and gave a sudden shake.

Elliot let go of the counter and pulled himself out of Fin's grasp, his senses and memories awakening and filling him with dread.

"We were drinking coffee..._the coffee...we were drugged_. Liv collapsed. I tried to get my phone, but I couldn't make it. She was on the couch," Elliot said, his face turning pale as the reality of what had happened hit him.

"Over here…" Munch began, as he looked at them from the centre of the room, next to the couch.

"What is it?" Elliot asked as he walked over to Munch, a little more steadily.

"You're not going to want to see this Elliot," he said gravely.

Elliot felt suddenly cold as he approached Munch, and followed his line of sight to the couch, where he had last seen Olivia. On the couch were photographs, spread out along the seat.

Almost afraid to look, but unable to stop himself, Elliot reached down and swept up some of the photos, and wasted no time in looking. He felt a cold shiver run through him, as he stared hard at the photos. The sickening realisation that these were photos of Olivia, taken while they were both unconscious was sickening and all at once, overwhelmed him.

Elliot let the photos fall from his grasp and dropped down to the floor, sitting with his back against the couch, resting his head in his hands.

"_I was right here and he still got to her_!"

Fin called through to Cragen and updated him while Munch took a closer look at the photographs. It pained him to have to see this reminder that Olivia had been abducted, but he also knew that one of them would have to examine these pictures, and Elliot was in no condition to cope with that task.

After a few moments, he spoke.

"What time did you drink the coffee, Elliot?"

Elliot remained silent, not moving from his position sitting on the floor against the couch.

"STABLER!" Munch shouted, getting Elliot's attention.

"Come on, you have to focus, what time did you have the coffee - we need to establish how long ago she was taken," he continued, while maintaining eye contact with Elliot, who had finally looked up at the unusual sound of Munch shouting.

"Erm...must have been - seven - seven thirty," he said quietly.

"OK, that's two and a half hours ago. It doesn't look like he hung around here for long - there doesn't appear to be any obvious serious injuries to her in these photos - that's what we have to hold on to," Munch said.

"_He was undressing her,_" Elliot said, raising his head but not making eye contact, with an unsettling quietness to his voice that concerned Munch.

"How bad is it?" Fin asked as he joined them.

Munch stepped back, giving a sideways glance to Elliot, as he updated Fin.

"He undressed her while she was unconscious, but he only took her shirt and pants off - she's cuffed in the last photo, but no obvious injuries or signs of assault. He hadn't hurt her beyond drugging her at the time these photos were taken - _we have to hold onto that_."

Fin and Munch glanced towards Olivia's door as the EMT's entered to check over Elliot. Fin went over to update them, as Elliot stood, and turned around to stare at the photos in Munch's hands. He tensed, as his anger rose up, but he only needed to look at Elliot to see that he and Fin needed to take control of the crime scene - _Olivia's apartment - the crime scene_.

He turned away from Elliot as he looked at the photos, one by one, hoping that an obvious clue to her whereabouts would have been left within the pictures. Sighing, he let his eyes focus on her face in the photo in his hand - clearly unconscious but not bruised or bleeding. It was little comfort in reality, but Munch couldn't allow himself to fail Olivia - so for her, he would keep it together.

He drew his eyes away from the photos, as Elliot suddenly stood up and walked over to the kitchen counter, picking up the jar of coffee.

"That'll need to be checked, so we can see what the son of a bitch drugged us with," Elliot said calmly.

Munch looked at him cautiously, noting how unnervingly calm Elliot seemed and took the jar, as the EMT's approached them.

_Elliot allowed the EMT's to check him over but declined to go to the hospital, saying that Melinda could do any blood analysis, and the results would be on site quicker too. Fin watched him from across the room while he sat down and cooperated with the medical checks. He also answered Munch's questions - with obvious frustration, but his manner and words, sent a warning to Fin that Elliot was reacting in an unexpected way. He let out an annoyed sigh - Stabler's unusual response to this horrible turn of events was something they did not have time to worry about. Everyone's attention and time needed to be focused solely on finding Olivia._

When the EMT's were finished, and heading out of the door, Fin approached Elliot.

"Let's go and leave CSU to process Liv's apartment, Cragen wants us all back at the precinct."

"What about the uniforms who were watching the apartment outside? They were supposed to be there round the clock," Elliot asked.

"They're both dead," Munch replied somberly.

**PRECINCT**

"Right this way please," Munch said to the man accompanying him into the squad room.

"Liv's neighbour," Fin said, before Elliot had a chance to ask.

"Elliot" Cragen said, as he stood by his door, waiting for Elliot to make a move.

Elliot looked back at Fin - he wanted to ask more - find out why Olivia's neighbour had been brought in and if he could be the lead to her whereabouts. He needed to know every aspect of the investigation and couldn't leave a potential witness to anyone else.

"Let Munch handle it. We're following any leads we get, even if they turn out to go nowhere," Fin said.

Elliot tensed, but then looked at Cragen, who was standing at his office door, and not giving Elliot the option to do anything else but enter. He nodded, and walked into Cragen's office, shutting the door.

"Melinda's tox report says you were drugged with a large dose of Zaleplon. It can leave you confused and drowsy for a few hours. You need to stay on desk - I'd tell you to rest till this drug is out of your system but I know it won't do any good. You need to be working this right now, so just keep a clear head. You don't look good Elliot, an hour in the crib _would_ help you recover from the effects of the drug."

"I need to keep going for Olivia," Elliot said calmly.

_Calmly_.

Cragen grew more concerned at the realisation that Elliot was responding to this situation with an uncharacteristic display of calm and composure. He decided to contact Huang and make sure Elliot spoke to him as soon as possible. He knew the drugs were probably having a fairly sedative effect but they had worn off considerably, and he also realised that Elliot was probably suffering some degree of shock. He decided that keeping him busy would be the most useful course of action. He feared how Elliot might react once he allowed himself to process the gravity of the situation.

"Help Fin, if we can discover who Matthew Hutson associated with back in '95 we can get a lead on who we are really dealing with here. Elliot - _Huang thinks he will contact us soon _\- it's a game for this son of a bitch, and he can't help himself," Cragen said.

Elliot gave a slight nod as he turned and left the office, and made his way to the interview room.

Standing outside the interview room, he observed the conversation that Olivia's neighbour - a man in his mid forties, was having with Munch.

"OK," Munch said, sound exasperated**.**

"Tell me again, what did you hear and what time was it?"

"Well... I'm sure it was around eight...well, _maybe_ nine...I had already had dinner, so it was late….it's hard to remember, I'd had a couple of drinks before I got home, so I wasn't really watching the clock. I heard a man swearing by the elevator - you know, it _might_ have been more like ten O'clock….I know he came out of one of the apartments on my floor - Olivia's or that nice old lady down the hall... I'm not sure which one, though."

Munch sat back in his chair and sighed.

"Thank you for your time, if you remember anything else, let me know."

He left the room and noticed Elliot straight away.

"He was drunk and vaguely heard a sound, nothing we can use there. He has changed the time and the noise he heard three times now," Munch said, as he walked back towards his desk.

Elliot remained outside the window, watching as the man finished his coffee. Just as he stood up, and went to pick up his coat, something inside of Elliot, that had been teetering on the edge since he woke up on Olivia's kitchen floor, just simply snapped.

He stormed into the room and grabbed the man by his shoulders, shoving him up against the wall. He ignored the look of shock and fear in the man's eyes when he connected with Elliot's _and saw nothing but rage_.

"What. Time. Was. It?" Elliot asked, punctuating each word with a shove against his shoulders.

"I….don't remember….I'm sorry...I just don't."

"You are in here WASTING OUR TIME, when Olivia is out there with some psycho," Elliot shouted, as his grip on the man's shoulders tightened further and he slammed him repeatedly against the wall.

Elliot didn't see the fear, or the panic in the man's eyes. He couldn't comprehend that this man actually knew very little, and was trying to help, even if it was nothing they could really use. All he could see was Olivia - lying unconscious on her couch, helpless, as he drifted into unconsciousness. The man who visited them, playing games, and threatening her. _His hand in hers_. His arm around her as she leaned into him. Holding Sarah while she sobbed. _The way she smiled_.

Images flooded his mind as a white hot rage took hold of him. He wasn't even aware that he had let go of his shoulders, and his hands had found their way to the man's throat.

He wasn't even aware of how he got onto the floor, Olivia's neighbour lying on his back, while he straddled him, his hands squeezing harder and harder around his throat.

_He was aware of nothing until distant voices were fading in to his conscious mind, and hands were on him, grabbing, pulling, trying to break his vice like grip._

"ELLIOT, STOP!" Cragen yelled, as Fin finally managed to break Elliot's hold, pushing him backwards onto the floor.

"WE NEED A BUS!" Cragen yelled, as he moved over to Olivia's neighbour who was lying alarmingly still.

Elliot regained his focus and suddenly became all too aware of the chaos that he had caused. Cragen was checking the man's vitals, and Fin was watching him warily, for any sign that he hadn't got himself under control.

"Shit Stabler! _What the hell did you do_?" Fin said, as he released his grip on Elliot.

_Two hours later, and the realisation of what he had done had sunk in, as Elliot paced back and forth in his apartment, waiting for a call. His phone had rung countess times but he had ignored the call from Fin, the two from Huang, and the four calls from Cragen - he didn't want to speak to a shrink, and what more was there to say to Cragen. He knew he had messed up on a grand scale, but he couldn't change that now. All he could think of was Olivia. Finding her was the only thing that mattered to him now._

Elliot had dealt with some horrible things, but never had someone so close to him been at risk. He couldn't even describe how he felt - his mind conjured up a bombardment of tortuous images. He couldn't stop - imagining what was happening - every time he closed his eyes all he could see was the crime scenes they had investigated. The sheer brutality behind the attacks and the sickening thought that this bastard now had Olivia, despite the fact that he had been right there with her.

He felt that he would quite simply lose his mind if he didn't have something to act upon.

_Finally the call he had been waiting for came and he picked up in a split second._

"Munch, what do you have?"

"Apart from a whole world of trouble that you left us in your wake? You did not pick a good time to get suspended," Munch replied.

"I don't have time for this Munch, just tell me if you have anything I can use. I can't even come into the building - you have to tell me everything you have."

"I will Stabler, I'm not going to leave you in the dark. We have a list of people Matthew Hutson associated with back in '95 or thereabouts. Two have records, but one, _the most promising,_ has a colourful record beginning in his youth, it stops dead in 2005, but he doesn't. No death records. We think this could be him - he got smart, more devious, and began using fake ID's."

"Give me everything you have on him."

"Stabler - don't go this alone. If he's not our guy and you repeat today's antics, IAB'll have my ass too. If he is our guy, you could put Liv at risk by going in without backup. Cragen took your gun when he sent you home?"

"Yeah, I don't need to shoot the bastard though, that's far too easy. A bullet is too quick, he doesn't get off that lightly."

"Cragen's been calling you.." Munch began.

"Yeah I know, I'm not answering," Elliot replied, before pausing, "Munch?" he said, hesitantly.

"_How bad did I hurt him_?"

"You're lucky Fin managed to get you off him fairly quickly. He's in Bellevue - he's conscious now, but needs to stay in for 36 hours for observation. The doctor said it's looking positive - bruising will subside, _but Stabler_ \- _you visit him_, apologise, try and sort this mess out. Liv doesn't want you losing your badge. I don't need to tell you that she needs you working this."

"Don't go off on your own Elliot, call Cragen back and work out how you can be involved till this mess of yours gets sorted out."

Elliot sighed.

They both remained quiet, before Elliot spoke again - a desperate edge this time to his voice.

"If he so much as touches her Munch _\- believe me_ \- I'll kill the bastard slowly. _He'll know what it's like to really suffer_."

**UNKNOWN LOCATION**

Olivia struggled to open her eyes, a heavy weight felt as though it were pressing on her, and she at first thought that was blindfolded. As she fought to stop her eyes from drifting closed, she made out a shape, the glint of something metallic, and she attempted to move to reach it. Only then did the fog filling her mind and her vision began to lift, _as she came to a frightening realisation that she was unable to move._

Her eyes began to adjust to the darkened room, and she was all too soon aware that she was sitting in a chair, the metallic glint coming from cuffs securing her arms to the armrests. Attempting to move her legs, she found that they were also restrained to the chair, although those restraints felt somewhat softer than the hard metal cuffs. She felt a slight relief that she was fully clothed, but she was well aware that she was unarmed - her mind somewhat foggy and confused. She battled to remember how she had got here - she could not see very clearly, as the room appeared to be lit only by a small lamp which gave off a dim glow. Not willing to alert her captor that she awake, she remained silent, as she found her eyes increasingly adjusting to the dimmed lighting.

She attempted to take in her surroundings.

The room appeared most likely to be a basement. She could just about make out steps and a table - a small grille on the wall opposite her which let in dim bands of light, and very little else.

She remained silent as she took the time to evaluate her situation - reminding herself of everything she knew about her captor, and what his triggers might be. She did her best to ignore the wave of panic which threatened to creep up and take her over, as she thought about how she would handle this.

The only thing that she knew, was that _whatever this psycho had planned, she had to survive._

**I wanted to explore how Elliot would react in this situation and also move the story in a direction which had the squad taking one angle, and Elliot another. Liv's not a damsel in distress though, so the next chapter will show us how she is dealing with the kidnapper.**


	7. Chapter 7

**This has been tough to write, I love Olivia but needed to get her interactions with her abductor just right - there is some violence and mild sexual themes in this chapter but I have worked hard to keep this T rated. **

**PRECINCT - FRIDAY **

"OK, this is what we have," Munch began, as Cragen, Fin and Huang gathered round.

"Billy Harmon didn't exist prior to 2002, after that we have financials and ID's - he just sprung to life - he is obviously a false identity. This man thrives on playing games - he created false identities to evade detection and seems to live as these people for a while. What makes it a little more disturbing is that he picks identities of dead people; Billy Harmon was killed in 2000 in a road traffic accident."

"What about the other person in the home invasion? That could have been him. He took Matthew Hutson's identity - he could be using the identities of people he's killed," Cragen said.

"That's what i'm going on - Matthew Hutson was once arrested for a break in at a factory, along with Charlie Cromer. Cromer has a longer record, a real potpourri of crimes - tried his hand at breaking the law in as many creative ways as possible. Suddenly he goes off the radar - he wasn't doing time, just went right off the radar, no financials, no credit history, no trace at all. Which we can assume is when he started taking the identities of dead people," Munch said.

"Let's work on the assumption that Charlie Cromer is who we're after here then. What do we have on him? He was using Matthew Hutson's identity - that's a start?" Cragen said.

"Do we release his picture to the media?" Fin asked.

Cragen turned to George.

"Are we putting Olivia at risk by antagonising him if we do that?"

"I don't think so. If we put out an appeal for information, we tell him that we have no leads. It may encourage him to make a move and contact us. In this situation it might be a useful move on our part. He has let us come face to face with him, so he will expect us to make the connection soon or later, and he will be waiting for his next move in the game. He wants us to discover who he is, so that he can take things to the next level - he will be bored if he doesn't keep going further and increasing the risk of getting caught. This is more than a game to him now, it's a personal challenge," Huang said.

"Captain, we need Elliot on this, we are running thin on the ground here," Munch said.

Cragen sighed, in annoyance.

"We have every officer in this precinct at our immediate disposal and can pull in anyone else we need. I will talk to IAB _but_ he has put an innocent person in the hospital. He hasn't given me much choice here."

"We need to keep him updated - tell him what's going on, get his input. No one is saying he didn't cross the line big time, but we need him on this." Fin said.

"It's out of my hands right now. That's a whole other mess to sort out," Cragen said, exasperated.

"Cap, you gotta know he's not just gonna sit at home and wait for us to find Liv. He's gonna go doing his own digging," Fin said.

"He can't work on this till IAB clear him. Elliot was there when Liv was abducted though - that's a valid reason for him being here, but I can't give him more than that right now."

Let's get back to work. Trace Cromer's movements, internet history, financials. If you've done it before, do it again. _Something will lead us to him_." Cragen said, before turning and walking back into his office, deciding to try and reach Elliot yet again.

**BASEMENT**

Olivia jolted awake as a door swung open abruptly, slamming loudly as it hit the wall. She opened her eyes and looked ahead of her - annoyed that she had fallen asleep, but as she now suspected she had been drugged, relieved that her senses were clearer now that any effect had worn off.

She remained composed but could not help tensing when the large band of light suddenly flood the room as the door at the top of the stairs had been flung open. Loud footsteps thumped on the steps as someone descended, moving quickly down the stairs and across the room.

She was unsurprised to see Matthew Hutson, but surprised to note that he could walk easily, without a stick.

"Olivia," he said as he approached her, smiling.

"_Sleep well_?"

Olivia stared at him for a moment, rapidly trying to assess the situation, before she spoke.

"You can walk - that was a good act…do you have a sister?"

Olivia tensed as he raised his hand and struck her across the side of her face. Without giving her time to recover, he immediately moved close to her, placing his hands on top of hers, with a bruising grip as he leaned down.

She couldn't help her impulse to turn her head away as his lips brushed hers lightly. Angry at her reaction, he grabbed her face with both of his hands and forced her to look at him.

"If you're not going to ask intelligent questions, then you won't ask any at all," he said with an eerie smile.

"OK, then what should I ask?" She said unsteadily.

"Don't you want to know what I have planned for you? I've worked so hard to get you here. I'm quite proud of that - it was an ingenious plan - your partner wasn't leaving you alone for a minute was he? He really made me go that extra mile - _I left him a gift to thank him_."

Olivia involuntarily tensed at the mention of Elliot, and hoped that it wasn't obvious that he had hit a nerve. She really didn't want to give him any leverage over her emotions.

"I can imagine how worried he must be. He will be wondering what we are doing right now - bet he was pretty pissed when he woke up!" Cromer said, smirking.

Olivia flinched as he kept a tight hold, either side of her head - his fingers digging into her cheeks as he closed the slight gap between them and kissed her hard. She shut her eyes tightly as she tried to visualise herself somewhere else - but the pain in her cheeks as his fingers bruised her flesh was preventing her. He suddenly let her go and stood up, as she opened her eyes and stared up at him.

"Who are you?" she said, as she fought to retain her composure.

He stood silently as he stared at her, taking in the slight nervous edge to her voice.

"Charlie," he said, with no hint of emotion in his voice.

Olivia managed to retain eye contact with him and not look away as she tried to continue the dialogue and work out how she could stand a chance of getting out of the situation she had woken up to.

"_Charlie _\- how did you drug me?"

"I'm glad you asked that - _really I am Olivia_. I am quite proud of that move - It was in the coffee," he smiled, but his eyes remained cold and hard as he watched Olivia's reaction.

Leaning down, closer to her, he spoke in a low voice.

"Are you impressed Olivia?"

"Yes...you drugged two detectives, that's...an impressive feat," Olivia replied, hoping that she had got the right angle on this conversation.

He stood up straight again and smiled.

"I knew you'd be impressed." He walked around the chair until he was standing behind her. Olivia grew more tense once he was out of sight, and felt her breath quicken as she wondered what he was doing.

He walked around the chair until he was standing behind her. Olivia grew more tense once he was out of sight, and felt her breath quicken as she wondered what he was doing.

"Hey Olivia," he said, his voice low and steady, as he leaned down behind her, his lips brushing against her neck.

"_Wanna know what's gonna happen next_?"

"Yes," she replied, annoyed at herself as she heard how unsteady her voice was.

She tensed and bit her lip to stop herself from reacting and antagonising him, as he placed his lips on her neck, placing a light kiss on her skin before suddenly biting down hard. Olivia cried out and immediately cursed herself for allowing him to get a reaction from her.

With his lips still brushing against her neck , he spoke, with the steady tone, lacking emotion, that was making her feel very unnerved.

"Next, we send your friends a message. What do you think Olivia? Is that a good idea? Would they like that do you suppose?"

Olivia swallowed and watched him cautiously.

"That's a good idea. What kind of message?" she asked.

In a split second he walked back around the chair and stared into her eyes. Her expression changed from confusion to fear as he reached behind him and pulled out a knife, thrusting it toward her.

She shut her eyes tightly, and felt overwhelmed by panic as he moved the knife between her thighs, and she felt it press against her, sliding slowly down her leg - the material of her clothing tearing in places under the pressure of the blade. She felt her breath quicken and fought hard to hold back her tears and the involuntary trembling which she was vaguely aware of, as she felt his other hand roaming over body roughly.

Laughing, he took his hand off of her and proceeded to cut the restraints from her legs, - she opened her eyes in confusion.

"Wh..what are you doing?" she said, all too aware that she was losing her battle to remain composed, and that her eyes were wet with tears that she fought hard to keep inside.

"You're going to be good now aren't you?" he said.

"I….Yes." She said, confused.

"OK, then I'm going to get you out of this chair - it must be uncomfortable - are you uncomfortable Olivia?" He asked, as he stared at her quizzically as if studying a specimen.

"Yes…" she replied hesitantly.

"OK then. Now you're a smart girl Olivia. I shouldn't have to spell it out for you. _I will though_, just so we're on the same page. I am in charge here - and I will not hesitate to hurt you if you try to escape or fight me. I don't want to have to kill you so soon - you'd miss out on everything, and you don't want that do you?"

"No...I don't," She replied tensely.

"Good," He said smugly.

"I'm going to take the cuffs off, and you're going to stand up, then i'm going to cuff your hands behind your back. You'll be much more comfortable that way, won't you? How does that sound?" he asked, as he stared at her almost blankly.

"That... sounds like a good idea," Olivia said, her mind racing to find the right way to get him to connect with her in some way - any way other than the roles they currently held.

He smiled at her and leaned closer, raising his hand and lightly caressing her cheek. Olivia retained her composure, despite the urge to kick him now that her legs were free, but knowing that resisting or retaliating would jeopardise the chance of him releasing her from the chair. Shifting the odds of escape to her favour was the priority.

He kept eye contact with her continuously as he dropped his hand away from her cheek and reached into his pocket, producing a key. Olivia was very aware of the knife that he still held in his other hand, but tried not to look directly at it, so that he did not pick up on her anxiety.

He held the key in front of her, and smiled.

"I'm going to get a message to your friends first. Then, if you've been good I'll let you get up. I'll take you upstairs to the bathroom. You've been here for several hours now, you must need to use the bathroom. Would you like me to take you soon?" he said, in a somewhat patronising tone.

Olivia swallowed and tried hard to keep her voice steady.

"Yes, I would like that."

"Good," he replied.

"Now, let's send that message," he said, displaying no emotion, as he stood up and stared at her with scrutiny.

Olivia did not let her eye contact falter, despite feeling increasingly uncomfortable at his silent, cold stare, as he turned the knife over and over in his hands, almost absent-mindedly.

In moments however, she noticed a sudden change in his demeanour - he gripped the handle tighter and lunged at her. The uncomfortable silence continued as he gripped her hand roughly, and turned it around, holding it painfully tightly. Pain coursed through her wrist, against the resistance of the handcuffs as he twisted her hand around.

He stared into her eyes, and she stared back, confused and scared, seeing only blankness displayed in his.

Suddenly she screamed, as holding her hand open, he sliced into her palm.

Olivia fought to stay calm but unable to move her arms, she could not apply any pressure to the wound. Despite knowing that she could not get up, she struggled hard, hoping that the arm rests on the chair would give out and break.

"Stop fighting, you'll only hurt yourself," he said, as he watched her intently.

She continued struggling as he gripped hard, holding her hand still as he pressed something on to her palm. Olivia stopped struggling and stared at her hand in confusion as she realised he had pressed a piece of paper hard against her bloodied hand.

"There, that looks just right," he said as he let go of her hand and stood up, holding the paper out for her to see.

"Do you think they will like it? We all have different perceptions of beauty, but I hope they will see it. There is such beauty in you, I want to release it - you'll thank me eventually -_ they all did_."

Olivia struggled against the handcuffs, trying to shift her hand to the arm rest and use it to apply pressure. She felt cold and sick, hearing his words in the background, almost muffled, as she could not focus on anything except the pain in her hand and the wet stickiness of the wound.

"OLIVIA!" he yelled angrily, when she did not respond to his words.

Olivia looked up and into his eyes, fear coursing through her, as she was met with an expressionless stare.

She drew her eyes to the smudged, bloodied hand print on the paper, and winced at the burning pain in her hand.

"What….do you...?" she began,

"I think your partner will really like this," he said, as he looked at the bloodied paper as if admiring a work of art.

Putting it down on the floor, he stood back and watched Olivia as she did her best to hold herself together.

"Why did you kill them Charlie?" she asked, silently pleased that her voice sounded steadier than she had expected it to be.

"_Why_? They were nothing Olivia. I was just passing my time _until I found the right girl_."

"Why did you pick me?" she asked.

"I trusted that I would know when I found the right one. I watched you talking to that kid. Jeez she was quiet - I thought that bitch lived alone. I shoulda checked the other rooms, - that was rather amateurish of me. I saw you though - _and I watched you_…" he leaned down, his face so close to hers that they were almost touching.

Olivia used every ounce of strength she had not to look away as he continued.

".._and I knew I had to have you._"

**PRECINCT**

Cragen slammed his phone down and cursed in annoyance. Stabler going off grid was not what he needed right now. If he had got some information about Olivia then he prayed Elliot would not act alone, and put Olivia at any further risk. Elliot just wasn't thinking with a clear head, he was running on fear and anger, and that combination of raw emotion made Cragen extremely uneasy.

In the squad room they had been taking calls for over an hour since releasing his photo to the media. Only one had been remotely useful, and Munch and Fin were chasing the leads it had produced. Cragen vaguely recalled telling them all to take shifts, rotating so that everyone got some sleep, but no one appeared to want to stop and lose momentum, and he couldn't blame them. When one of their own was at risk, protocol could just go out of the window as far as he was concerned.

His hand gripped the handle of his desk drawer, and steadied there as he contemplated opening it. His thoughts briefly entertained the option of taking out the bottle that he felt an odd comfort in keeping there, and falling into it's toxic comfort. He knew that he wouldn't do it - he wouldn't let himself fall, despite the hell that this was putting them all through. Knowing he had the choice to battle his demon or succumb to it gave him strength.

He pulled his hand away and looked up as Fin entered through the open door.

"Tell me we have something Fin," he said.

"Looks like 'Hutson' worked at a bar - two callers had said they recognised him as a bartender. One couldn't remember where, she was drunk off her ass when she went bar hopping couple weekends back. From what she did say, we're have a radius with eight bars to visit. The other said he met Hutson at a gym and he said he _owned_ a bar."

"He wouldn't be likely to volunteer that he is a bartender - that's giving too much away. The link is there to a bar, it corroborates the bar hopper. She remember anything else?" Cragen asked.

"We're bringing her in, might help to drive past a few bars, see if she remembers anything else."

"Good, we need teams out hitting these bars," Cragen said as he stood, heading out of his office with Fin following.

**DUKES BAR**

_Elliot had never felt as desperate as he did at that moment. He had to regain control of the situation, not leave Olivia in the hands of a rapist and murderer while he waited for the others to come up with a lead, or for Cromer to dictate what the next move would be. A call from Munch had given him the direction he needed. Something to investigate - a possibility that might lead him to Olivia, and he wasted no time in locating the first bar on the list that Munch had texted him._

Twenty minutes later he stood in a now empty bar, broken glass crunched under his feet as he walked over to the counter and placed his hands down leaning forward, and staring hard at the bartender, who retreated further backwards until he hit the rack of bottles behind him, knocking one down with a smash.

"Look...i'm gonna call the cops if you don't leave," The bartender said, not at all confidently.

Elliot laughed.

"I know where he lives, and his cell phone - he didn't come into work - he hasn't all week. I'll give you his number and address, _but please - calm down,_" He begged.

Elliot stared hard at him, feeling a sense of accomplishment that he had obtained an address for Cromer. The bartender shakily tried to write the details down on a napkin but couldn't steady his shaking hands and only proceeded to make holes in the tissue.

"Write it on this," Elliot said, as he produced a card from his pocket, turning it over so that the bartender could write on the blank side.

He wrote the details and glanced quickly at the other side of the card as he handed it back. Catching sight of the words 'police' and 'detective' he soon realised that calling the police might not help him deal with the destruction this man had launched on his bar.

Elliot took the card and turned around, walking out past the smashed window that he had hurled a heavy chair through when the bartender said he didn't know where 'Hutson' lived. As he walked toward the door, he heard the crunch of the glass again that had come from numerous smashed bottles that previously sat on the tables that he overturned when one of the now vacated patrons had tried to tackle him after he smashed the window.

He threw open the door, and slammed it violently behind him when he left.

He strode quickly and purposefully in the direction of the address he had extracted from the bartender. He passed several people, most of whom moved out of his way, a few who didn't and were knocked into as he barged past them. Pulling out his phone he quickly sent a text message to Munch.

"_I know where that pricks been living. Update soon."_

Elliot had kicked in Cromer's door in seconds, and was now standing in his living room. He took a moment to look around the room, considering where to start searching, when he stopped, and walked over the the kitchen counter, resting his hands on the top as he closed his eyes. All of the adrenalin that he had been running on ever since throttling Olivia's neighbour, was rapidly receding and he was beginning to feel decidedly more anxious. Suddenly, all he could think about was the argument in the squad room not long before she had left, and the conversation they had when that case was finally over -the regret and sorrow he felt as he recalled his words, stung him horribly.

_"Look, we both chose each other over the job. We can never let that happen again. Otherwise... we can't be partners." _

_"I can't believe you're saying that." _

_"Look, you and this job are about the only things that I've got anymore. I don't want to wreck that. I couldn't take it_."

He opened his eyes and turned around, noticing a laptop, and moving over to it, picking it up and switching it on.

He browsed the contents of the laptop and looked through emails, scanning for anything that might give some clue as to where he would take her.

As he searched, he was consumed by thoughts of her - _the way her voice sounded when she said his name_. The way that they had grown closer since she had returned - in so many years of an unspoken, careful physical distance, _they had crossed over toward something warm and comfortable. _

He thought of how she felt as they sat on her couch together, his arm around her, her body closer to his than it had ever been for that length of time. _He wanted her_ \- in his life, in his heart and in just about every way. He knew that if he lost her now, to this psychopath, then he would never come back from it.

_He didn't think that he could go on without her_.

Olivia had always been important to him to him- _a big part of his lif_e, but now something was shifting and they were both moving their relationship towards a different path. She was happy - she wasn't running from what was emerging between them.

His thoughts turned suddenly to the previous victims, and all at once, the images in his mind switched into a dark and twisted horror. Olivia's body where the other victims had been - her suffering and dying at the hands of someone he should have identified and apprehended by now - all that Elliot could see were bloodied, violated bodies, and _Olivia's _unconscious_ form, lying slumped on her couch_

He stood abruptly, running to the sink and vomited.

**So this chapter takes us in three directions - Olivia dealing with the psycho, the squad investigating, and Elliot handling it the only way he can. Sorry for the lack of EO, but I won't keep them apart for too long... Chapter 8 is halfway there, where the squad get a lead, Olivia has a plan, and Elliot extracts some information...!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you to those who are reading - especially to Mrs Amy Lee,** **inescapela2001 and The Congressman. :-) This chapter sees Liv battling with her captor - there is some violence but it is not graphic. Things start out not looking good for Liv here, but don't worry, we are nearly out of the woods and it will end on a much happier note!  
**

**CROMER'S APARTMENT**

Elliot paced the room in frustration - there was just too much to look through by himself, and he was too concerned that he would waste time that Olivia might not have left, if he attempted to find a lead alone. Cragen had been relieved to hear from him - his lack of communication after Elliot's violent outburst was a headache he didn't need. He decided to do whatever it took to keep him close and prevent him from doing anything that he might not be able to come back from. He knew knew that Elliot and Olivia shared a very strong bond - stronger than any other team he had ever worked with, and he was only too aware of how much Olivia's abduction was tearing Elliot apart. He was determined that they would both come through this - all they needed was a lead on her location. The longer she was missing, the more worrying it became - they were all well aware of that fact but they were all one hundred percent committed to working tirelessly to find her.

When Cragen entered the apartment with a compliment of officers, Elliot was standing against a wall - his eyes met Cragens, whose concern for him grew.

"Elliot, have you found anything?" Cragen asked

"If I did i'd be out of here finding her - believe me, I will find her."

"Do I want to know how you found this place?" Cragen asked, aware of the pain in Elliot's voice, but choosing instead to keep him focused on the job.

As the apartment was filled with officers, searching and tearing the room apart, Elliot remained motionless against the backdrop of intense scrutiny and activity. He did not reply but just stared at Cragen, who watched him carefully, with the hope that he could prevent Elliot from becoming a dangerous time bomb of anger.

"Elliot. We're getting closer, stay with me - you can't be on this as a detective until IAB clear you, but Olivia is going to need you. She's tough, she'll make it, and she'll get through this."

Elliot gave a sarcastic laugh.

"You don't know that - you don't know.." he continued shaking his head.

His voice dropped to a strained whisper as his eyes filled with a fear Cragen had never seen in him before.

"She might already be dead."

"Elliot, we had contact an hour ago. He dropped off a note - Melinda ran a DNA check and we got confirmation that Olivia's DNA is on it."

"Melinda's a medical examiner - why is she looking a note?" Elliot asked confused.

"It was a handprint...in blood."

Elliot looked at him in horror, and Cragen raised his hand indicating that Elliot should stay calm.

"Look - let's take it as a proof of life - I wont accept it as anything else, and neither should you." he said hoping his words would reassure Elliot to some degree.

"Stabler, we need you here - it's on me if IAB have anything to say about it. What have you looked at?"

"I was going through his email." he replied, with a distant tone that did not go unnoticed by Cragen.

"Continue with that - it could turn something up," he said as he began to walk away and coordinate the search.

Turning back for a moment he watched Elliot before speaking, his tone demanding attention.

"Elliot - you find anything - and I mean anything, then you report it to me - and don't leave this apartment until I tell you."

Elliot gave a slight nod and returned his focus to the computer.

**BASEMENT**

Olivia wasn't certain how long he had been gone for - the wound on her hand was bleeding steadily, but slowly. She had managed to slow it a little by balling up her hand into a fist and squeezing. Squeezing it only made her hand more painful but it also kept her alert. She knew that when he came back, if he came through on his promise to release her from the chair, then her chances of getting away would be greatly increased.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, no longer struggling against the cuffs, as her previous attempts had left deep welts on her wrists, and only taught her that the chair was not going to break easily.

She took several deep breaths, trying to control her emotions and regain some her declining strength.

She was alone with her thoughts, and she felt it. She felt more alone than she had ever done in her life. She didn't know if they had any leads on her location, and therefore how great her chances were - if at all, of being found.

She had battled to piece together the moment before she had woken up in the basement, but she couldn't remember anything past sitting on the couch with Elliot. She had been tired, but she was aware of what she was doing, and she was sure he was too. She hadn't hadn't been questioning their growing physical closeness, and Elliot's increasing emotional honesty, and she didn't know why. Perhaps it was because she trusted him more than she had trusted anybody in her life. She promised herself that she would not run from what was developing between them - she would get out of the mess she was in and put her arms around him.

She closed her eyes and tried to recall that moment on her couch - to slip away from the metal cuffs restraining her sore wrists, the sharp, burning pain in her hand, and the throbbing in her cheek. She focused on nothing but the memory of that moment - of how it felt when her body leant against his - the warmth between them, both physically and emotionally. She slipped into that moment to stay sane and out of the horrible reality of the situation she was now in.

The door opening brought her from her thoughts, followed by Charlie's heavy footsteps on the stairs.

She tensed, not wanting to return to the present, when she felt so much safer within her memories. Charlie stood back and watched her for a few moments before speaking.

"Open your eyes Olivia!" he demanded.

Olivia opened her eyes, and spoke, her voice a barely controlled whisper.

"You said you'd take the cuffs off."

He remained silent, watching her.

"I..need to use the bathroom," she said quietly.

"OK!" he said with a sudden, alarming brightness which took Olivia by surprise,

"Let's get you out of here then!"

Cromer unlocked the cuffs on both of her arms, and Olivia remained still as she mentally assessed the situation. He did the same, looking at her, before taking hold of her arm and pulling her up on to her feet.

"Turn around," he said

Olivia turned and he roughly cuffed her hands behind her back, before taking a firm hold of her arm and marching her across the room and up the stairs.

As she reached the top of the stairs and entered the room, she squinted, the light hurting her eyes. Trying desperately to adjust to the change in light quickly, she looked around - her eyes blurry, as she took in as much as could while she was quickly walked through the house.

The bathroom had not provided any means of escape or any object that she could use as a weapon. He had clearly checked the room and ensured that she could not use it to her advantage.

"Hurry up," he said irritably.

Olivia grabbed a towel - the only item in the room, and pressed it against her hand, moments later he walked in and looked at her for a moment before grabbing her arms, and cuffing her hands in front of her. Olivia felt a sense of hope in that she was at least more physically able and less helpless with her arms cuffed in front of her.

She held on to the fact that he planned to let her use the bathroom alone - having taken time to ensure that she did not have access to anything that could help her gain any control over the situation. Affording her that privacy gave her a slight hope that he had not completely objectified her.

**CROMER'S APARTMENT**

"CAP!" Elliot shouted, as Cragen moved over to the computer.

"I got something," Elliot said, as he stood, as if ready to run out of the door in a split second.

"An email to a woman - Natasha Miah - there are more emails between them then anyone else. They're all signed Josh Wyatt."

"Bastards getting ready to move on to new identity," Fin said, as he joined them.

"She's away for a week and he is house sitting - there's a partial address in an earlier email - got it here," Elliot continued, speaking quickly, his heart racing.

"That gives us a small enough radius to focus on. Forward everything you have on her to Munch right now. LET'S MOVE OUT!" Cragen ordered.

**HOME OF NATASH MIAH**

He led her into the living room, and pushed her onto the couch. He sat next to her, and looked at her, glancing down at her hand. He stared for a moment, as if transfixed by the changing colour of the previously white towel, as her wound began to soak it.

The silence was making Olivia feel considerably more unsettled. When he was speaking, at least she could try to predict his next move. Deciding to use the silence to process her surroundings, she cautiously glanced around, trying not to draw attention to her actions.

She could spot a cellphone on the coffee table within easy reach - but her only hope would be if he left her alone in her room with it, and he would likely take it with him if he left. A door to the right led out to a hallway, and she could just about make out a landline - she took a mental note of this, and considered how she might get access to it unseen.

At that moment, her thoughts were quickly shaken, as she suddenly felt his arm across her shoulders, pulling her closer to him and holding her in place tightly. She felt instantly sick, as the memory of Elliot, so warmly and comfortably putting his arm around her filled her mind. She longed to be back in that moment with Elliot again, just resting comfortably against each other - far away from where she had ended up.

"I've sent your friends our message," he said, laughing slightly.

"...OK," Olivia replied, unsure of how to respond, and tensing from the unwelcome physical contact.

"I ordered a pizza - are you hungry?" he said, as he turned to look at her.

"Um...yes.." she replied, confused by the sudden turn in the conversation.

"If you…" he said, as his arm tightened further, his hand taking hold of her shoulder in a vice like grip.

"..are very good, I will let you have some."

Olivia winced at the pain in her shoulder, and tried to bring her cuffed hands up to his, trying hard to loosen his grip. Her heart was beating heavily in her chest as her mind raced to think of a direction to try to take this situation. He was not predictable enough for her to have formed any specific plan. She knew what he was capable of, and being at a distinct disadvantage in being firstly unarmed, and secondly cuffed, she knew that she needed to play this very carefully but she was fighting her instincts to simply react, rather than respond with more thought.

As she felt him moving, turning his body so that he was pressing more against her, her own body being pushed into the couch, she could not help but react. She struggled and fought him as hard as she could as he pinned her down on the couch and began forcing his mouth on hers.

In the second that he reached up to move her cuffed hands above her head, she took advantage of the temporary ease when his bodyweight left hers, and brought her knee up as hard as she could against his groin, he released her arms, and sat back slightly, giving Olivia just enough space to bring her legs up further and kick him hard in his stomach.

"Bitch!" he shouted, and began to make a move to go after her.

Not wasting a second, she rolled onto the floor, scrambling up quickly, and grabbed a lamp which stood on a table near the door. She wrenched it hard, pulling the plug from the wall, and swung around, slamming it into his stomach as hard as she could.

As he doubled over in pain, Olivia raised the lamp again and hit him as hard as she could on his head. He dropped to his knees, as she ran into the hallway, not looking back as she raised her hands to the bolt at the top of the door, sliding it open. She then moved her hands down to the handle and pull it violently, realising right away that it was locked.

In an instant his hands were on her shoulders, pulling her hard, ripping her hands from the grip she held on the door handle as he spun her around, and threw her to the ground.

"You are gonna pay for that," he said, his voice now low and menacing.

Olivia tried to get up, but was knocked back down when he kicked her hard, in her side.

As he straddled her legs, he sat down to immobilse her with his body weight and began raining down blows with his fists.

Olivia had to think quickly, and the rising panic as well as the pain he was inflicting on her was not making rational thinking an easy task.

After dealing enough blows to weaken her ability to defend herself, he took his knife and began running it across her skin, touching lightly, but not drawing blood. Olivia winced, knowing that time was seriously running out and she began to feel desperate.

As soon as he was on top of her, roughly grabbing and tearing at her clothes, she knew she had little left to fight with anymore. In one last ditch attempt she tried a different angle.

"You're pathetic. You restrained Cathy too - did you have to do this will all of them? Is that it? You're not man enough - you can't get a woman to sleep with you, but you can't even rape without having to restrain them," Olivia said, her voice shaking.

To Olivia's relief, he took the bait and his anger rose. With one more blow to her face, Olivia laid back, unmoving as she feigned unconsciousness. Cromer stared at her, and stood up before roughly hauling her up, half carrying, half dragging her back to the living room, where he dumped her onto the couch.

"I was all together too nice to you Olivia," he said, as he stood over her.

Cromer reached into his belt and pulled out the knife, smiling as he watched her. The blood loss from her hand had slowed considerably, but a red trail ran from her hand, down her leg where it had soaked into her clothes. He stared at the trail of blood, studying it closely, until he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Olivia only opened her eyes once she heard him talking at the door - her heart rose in hope as she heard him arguing with whom she assumed was the pizza delivery person.

She immediately tried to sit up, but had underestimated the extent of the beating she had taken. It took a lot of effort and pain to sit up, and standing was only possible by using the coffee table to support herself.

Realing that she had a very limited window before the delivery person left, she tried to shout for help, but as soon as she tried to, she brought her hands to her face as she realised that her jaw was so swollen and painful that she would not be able to make much noise.

She glanced at the hallway, knowing that there was no way she would get past him and back to the basement where she had thrown the phone. Looking behind her she realised that the kitchen was her best bet, and she moved toward it as quickly as possible given her physical condition.

Once in the kitchen her heart leapt at the sight of Cromer's cell phone on the counter. Olivia lunged forward, grabbing it, and glanced around wildly, not spotting anything that could be useful as a weapon. He had clearly considered that she might get into the kitchen and removed anything that would help her defend herself.

She considered her options for a split second, and decided to call Cragen where she would not have to explain her situation first and waste precious seconds.

_"Cragen," He replied as he hit the speaker button on his phone._

_"Don...get my location," she whispered, her breath uneven and ragged with the physical effort of getting into the kitchen._

_"Olivia - i'm on it, we're on our way now," Cragen replied, glancing at Elliot who was already on his cell phone arranging a trace on the captains phone._

_"We're setting it up Liv. We know the area you are in - we are headed there now and we will have your exact location soon - stay on the line. Are you in a safe location?"_

_"No...I'll hide the phone….keep the call active."_

_"Do you know where you are Liv?"_

_"No…. he's coming back," she said her voice rising at the sound of the door losing._

_Cragen and Elliot remained silent, listening intently, until Elliot received notification from Munch that they had her location._

_The only thing that Olivia could reach was the fridge, so she moved to it quickly placed the phone on top, as far back as she could reach, hoping that it would not be spotted._

_With every bit of strength she had, Olivia moved away from the kitchen as quickly as she could, and just made it to the living room, dropping to the floor as he entered the room._

_Putting down his phone, he relayed the address to Cragen._

_"We're ten blocks away Liv," Elliot whispered, unable not to relay some form of reassurance to her, but not wanting to risk the phone being discovered._

Cromer walked into the room and his eyes fell on Olivia who was lying on the floor - she had managed to turn her body around, so that she appeared to be trying to make it into the kitchen. He observed her silently for a moment, before walking up to her, and bending down, grabbing her legs and dragging her back towards the couch.

She immediately flought him, kicking with the little strength she could muster.

"Get. Off. Me," she said with more ferocity than she thought possible.

"SHUT UP!" he shouted, as he reached down, grabbing her and turning her on to her back and straddling her as he moved his knife towards her throat, grabbing the waistband of her pants.

"You know you can't really take control here don't you? ….You know you'll never really control me unless you can do this without the cuffs on," she said, her voice growing in a desperate attempt at confidence as she noticed something change in his eyes at her words.

"I don't need to cuff you bitch, I'd still be in control of you if I took those off - I have a knife to your throat - you think you could actually get away from me?"

"You'll never know if you were man enough then will you?" she goaded, willing him to react how she anticipated him too.

In one swift motion, he pulled the key from his pocket and unlocked the cuffs. Her heart rose in hope as she felt the cold metal slip away from her raw wrists.

He stared into her eyes and she stared back at him, praying that she could delay him long enough that her squad would locate her.

"Kiss me," she said, her voice displaying a confidence which was hard to force out.

He stared at her in confusion.

"What? You want me to kiss you?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah, I do - Those women you killed - they meant nothing to you did they? I'm the one you were looking for, Do you know how that makes me feel?" she said, the confidence she worked hard to force, becoming more genuine as she noted his confusion.

"How does it make you feel?" he asked, staring at her quizzically.

She raised her injured hand to his face, aware of his abnormal interest in blood. Shakily she placed her palm against his cheek, and the expression in his eyes displayed the first real hint of emotion that she had seen.

She spoke with a whisper, too quiet for him to hear, and her heart rate quickened as he took the bait and released his body weight from hers, leaning down and placing his cheek next to hers. Her eyes remained firmly fixed on his hand holding the knife, his grip becoming lax as his excitement grew,

"Tell me Olivia, how does it make you feel?" he said.

"_Special,_" she whispered.

At her utterance of that word he let out a sigh dropping the knife and Olivia grabbed it, bringing the handle up into his face as hard as she could. He let out a cry as it connected with with his eye.

As he momentarily crumpled to the floor next to her, she rolled away from him and pulled all her remaining strength together to stand and grab the lamp that was still lying on the floor.

Wasting no time she brought it down hard on his head. For a moment she felt like crying as he fell down unconscious - knowing at once that she was now safe.

The next moments were a blur - she didn't know at what point the door had been kicked in, but suddenly she was surrounded by her squad - her family, who all looked at her with nothing but relief and care.

"Liv," Elliot said, his heart breaking at the sight of her as he rushed to her side and took off his jacket, placing it over her and covering her torn clothing. Taking her in his arms, he held her close. They both stood still, lost in the feeling of each other's warmth, as the room now rapidly filling with police became alive with activity.

Elliot moved one hand to her head, smoothing her hair gently, and placed a kiss on her head.

"Olivia," he said, with relief and joy.

She returned his embrace, closing her eyes and relishing in the feel of his arms around her.

"God Liv...If I lost you..." he whispered.

"You didn't...you didn't," she said.

Olivia pulled away slightly and looked at him.

"I wanna get out of here El," She said softly.

"Ambulance has arrived, let's get you checked out Liv," said Cragen as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

_Three hours later, Olivia had finally convinced the doctors that she was OK to go home, and with great relief she was now sitting on the side of the hospital bed, in fresh clothes that Casey had brought for her. Cragen had taken her statement and he was now sitting in the chair next to her bed, smiling as she insisted that the three weeks he wanted her to take off was excessive. He knew he wouldn't be able to convince her to take that long to recuperate, but he wanted to make sure she was OK. Glancing out of the partially open door she noticed Elliot and Casey talking quite intently, before Elliot stood and began to walk back over to Olivia's room._

"You are not in a position to argue Stabler!" Casey called out after him.

"What's that about?" Olivia asked.

"Ah...well, Elliot will tell you about that. Just focus on recovering, he will be OK," Cragen said reassuringly, placing a hand on her arm.

"He just has some technicalities to work out. Now Olivia, your apartment is a crime scene at the moment, so you won't be able to stay there at least for a couple of days."

Olivia sighed in annoyance as Elliot joined them.

"Not a problem, I have a spare room," Elliot said.

Olivia looked at him, poised to object, but as their eyes connected her objections quickly dissipated.

"OK, _thank you,_" she smiled.

As she stood to leave, waving the proffered hands of support away, Fin entered giving her a warm smile, as held up his car keys.

"You ready to bust out?"

"_Definitely,_" she replied, returning his smile.

As the three detectives made their way out of the hospital Fin turned to Olivia.

"Hey Liv," He said.

Olivia glanced at him, waiting for him to continue.

"How many sessions you gotta have with Huang before they let you back?"

"Hopefully not more than three," She replied, confused at his question.

Fin laughed.

"You get kidnapped by some psycho and your partners got more compulsory shrinking than you do!" he laughed, shaking his head.

Olivia glanced at Elliot questioningly, knowing they would talk about it once they were alone.

As they slowly walked out of the hospital Elliot's hand lightly brushed Olivia's. The feather light touch did not go unnoticed by Olivia, who smiled at the slight contact between them. She resisted the urge to slip her hand into his, not wanting to deal with Fin's questions about their new found intimacy.

_She planned to slip right into his arms as soon as they were alone._

**I wanted to explore Elliot's reaction in this chapter and the previous one - as this is not too long after he told Liv that the job and her were all he had, but also to acknowledge their growing intimacy throughout the story. Things will be much lighter in the final chapter, stay with me just a bit longer because I'm all about EO :-)**


	9. Chapter 9

**This is the final chapter, thank you to everyone who has been reading. Thankyou Mrs Amy Lee :-) This story has taken me in several directions and been a fun challenge to write. I have two other stories in my head - a possible continuation to shadow being one of them. It think its safe to say any SVU story I write will be EO :-)**

**I hope you enjoy this and it wraps it up nicely for you**.

Olivia was exhausted - the energy it took to walk the relatively short distance between Fin's car and Elliot's front door had wiped her out. She did her best not to show it, but an hour later now that she was sitting on Eliott's couch, having showered put on clean clothes and eaten, she felt a little more human again. Elliot sat next to her on the couch, a respectable distance between them. She rested her bandaged hand on a pillow next to her, and ran her other hand through her hair as she leaned back, turning her head to look at Elliot.

"You OK?" he asked softly.

"I'm fine El," she smiled, shifting slightly on the couch as she turned towards him.

"You should get to bed, you look exhausted."

"Ha, thanks for the compliment," Olivia laughed.

"I just want to stay here for a bit longer - tell me what that was all about - with Casey...and what did Fin mean?"

Elliot sighed and leaned back into the couch, resigning himself to admitting his actions to Olivia before she got the facts from the others anyway.

_Olivia listened silently, giving Elliot a chance to finish. She watched him as he related the story, placing her bandaged hand in her lap so that she could turn to face him fully._

"I lost it - Liv, I just...thought about what he did to those other women, and I just couldn't handle it...knowing he had you...not knowing what he was doing to you - if he'd...if he'd raped you...if he'd killed you. _I couldn't keep going if he had,_" he said, glancing at her but not meeting her eyes.

Olivia reached out with her uninjured hand, taking his hand in hers, but still he did not meet her eyes.

"But he didn't El, _i'm OK,_" she said softly.

"You're not OK - I listened to you give Cragen your statement, _that bastard hurt you_."

Olivia sighed, wishing Elliot would look at her - the lack of eye contact was starting to bother her and if she had the energy to do it, she would have stood up and pulled him up with her - _make him look at her_ \- see that she was really OK. Then hold him - show him that they could be OK together and _let herself know how it felt just to be held by him_. She felt tense - she had been comfortable with the way that they had seemed to be crossing their barriers together, but she could not help but doubt that he felt the same.

"El...I…" Olivia began, suddenly finding it difficult to find her words.

"Come on," he said, standing as he offered her his hand.

"Just sleep, you need it." he said.

Olivia reached out and took his hand, standing up slowly and carefully, the exhaustion her abduction had left her with washing over her.

They walked carefully to Elliot's bedroom, neither seeming to notice that they hadn't released the hold on the other's hand.

"El, really I can take the spare room," Olivia said as they stood hand in hand, staring at Elliot's bed.

Elliot was having his own internal battle - he was relieved that Olivia had been OK with him staying with her while she gave Cragen her statement. His mind would no longer torture him with the details of what had happened to her now. However, being very aware of what she had been through, he was hesitant to do what his impulse and his heart wanted him to do. He wanted to just take her in his arms, _hold her_, tell her exactly what she meant to him - he was clearer of exactly what she meant to him now more than he ever had been. Now that he had faced the prospect of losing her, he simply couldn't let her go. He needed to talk to her and see if she was on the same page as him, but pushing her into baring herself emotionally so soon after everything she had been through just didn't feel appropriate to him.

"Don't argue Liv - just sleep here OK? It's more comfortable and you're the one covered in bruises and stitches, not me."

Olivia sighed and allowed Elliot to lead her into the room, guiding her over to the bed where she sat down.

They remained silent for a moment as they looked at each other, each hesitant about the next step to take.

"Erm...you have everything you need?" he asked, the nervous edge to his voice not unnoticed by Olivia.

Olivia looked at him, and considered all of the ways that she could answer that question, but she found that once again, words failed her where Elliot was concerned. She gave him a small and let go of his hand.

"Sit with me for a minute?" she asked, determined that she would not go to sleep until she was clearer about what she was doing here, in his home.

"Sure…" he replied with a slight hesitation.

"What you said…._that you couldn't keep going_…" she began, noticing Elliot shifting slightly.

"El, you have your family..you.."

"Stop," He whispered.

Olivia kept her gaze fixed to the door, as for a moment, she recalled their conversation on the day that everything seemed to fall down around her - around them both. She reminded him then of his family too.

"_Liv_…" he began softly, as he finally turned to look at her.

This time however, she was the one looking away - Elliot wanted the comfortable closeness back that was growing between them - he was relieved that she had so easily agreed to stay with him - in the back of his mind he was scared that she would take off - just simply not be here the next day, and he had a strong urge to keep her as close to him as possible.

Elliot slowly brought his arm up and placed it around her, breathing a relieved sigh at the physical connection to her. Every ounce of tension he felt faded all at once as she instinctively rested her head on his shoulder, leaning closer to him. He turned his head slightly, and placed a soft kiss on her head. A slight fear rose within him as he felt her tense a little from the unexpected move on his part.

"Elliot..what is this? ..._I need to know,_" she whispered.

"This? It's...just _us_ Liv...is it OK?"

"Yes," she said, the hint of a smile on her voice not unnoticed by Elliot.

He gently squeezed her shoulder and moved back on to the bed, carefully supporting her as she did the same.

Once she was lying down and comfortable Elliot turned to look at her.

"I lost my mind thinking about what could be happening to you - I wouldn't have...come back from it _if I lost you Liv_ \- can I ask you something?"

"Yeah," she replied quietly, as she shifted her position slightly to look at him more comfortably.

"Can I hold you? Tonight..._just hold you and stay here with you_?"

Olivia smiled.

"Liv?" Elliot asked hesitantly.

"_Yes_, El," she said smiling.

Elliot carefully pulled her into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder, and let her shift position until she was comfortable. He knew she would hate it if he said it aloud, but he had never felt more protective of her as he did at this moment.

As he placed another kiss, this time on her forehead, she turned her face to look at him. Neither could look away when they were at such close physical proximity. They paused, each lost in the feeling of warmth and comfort as holding her closely, their bodies touched in a way they never had before. As she lay in his arms Olivia shut her eyes and gave a small smile - she had never felt such loving intimacy, just though being held before. Elliot took a deep breath and closed the short space between them softly placing a gentle kiss on her lips. Olivia opened her eyes in surprise, and feeling his lips lingering on hers, she returned his kiss.

They remained in each others arms all night, and Elliot was greatly relieved when he woke to not only find that she was still there, but to wake for the first time in all the years that he had known her, to the feel of her in his arms.

**TEN DAYS LATER**

_It had been ten days - and every night Elliot lay with her, holding her. Olivia was now used to the gentle kiss he would place on her lips before they fell asleep each night, and the way he placed his hand gently on her shoulder - the small ways he would touch her seemed to exude intimacy - for Olivia and Elliot they were crossing a huge boundary. _

They sat in Elliot's car, this time Elliot at the wheel, and Olivia sitting next to him. He was driving her back from the doctor, where she had had the stitches in her hand taken out. The bruises had faded considerably, and Olivia was looking much less fragile to Elliot. He knew that she would hate to know he ever thought of her that way - but seeing her bruised and bloody gave her a fragility in hIs mind that he had found hard to shake. Glancing now at her, sitting beside him in his car, he knew she was anything but fragile.

Olivia said little on the drive back to Elliot's apartment - her mind was buzzing with thoughts as she questioned herself - Elliot's feelings toward her were now quite clear - he cared deeply - more deeply than anyone ever had for her, but she had spent the past ten days afraid to push the boundary that last step. Elliot felt much the same - years of a relationship with unspoken barriers was a hard thing to simply cross.

_Olivia had enough of waiting. _

As Elliot parked the car, his hand lingered as he moved the car into park. Turning off the ignition, and releasing his seat belt, he turned to look at Olivia.

"El...I need you to know something," she said, the nervousness in her voice surprising him.

"_Are you OK_?" he asked concerned.

Olivia took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before moving her hand to Elliots, and taking his hand in hers. He looked at their joined hands for a brief moment, his heart racing at her initiation of the contact, before looking up to meet her eyes.

"I'm fine," she said, sounding anything but fine.

"What do you need me to know Liv?" he said quietly, not certain that he wanted to her what she was going to say to him.

Olivia felt tears pricking at her eyes threatening to spill out, and tried to look away but found that her gaze was transfixed, unable to move from Elliot's now concerned gaze.

"Liv..._what's wrong_?"

"Nothing..nothing's _wrong,_" she said.

"Then tell me Liv…" he said, releasing his hold on her hand, and moving his hand to her cheek.

As soon as he placed his palm against her cheek, Olivia could not help but lean her face into his hand.

"OK...I…_I love you El,_" she said, her voice barely a whisper.

Elliot reached his other hand down to press the button that released her from her seatbelt, and immediately moved toward her, pulling her as close to him as he could at the same time, given the confines of the car.

Keeping his hand on her cheek, his other arm moved around her back, his palm tracing over over hip and back as he touched her. Pulling her in closer to him, he paused, ensuing that she was looking at him before he continued.

"I thought I'd lost you, and I couldn't imagine a life without you - _I love you Olivia,_" he said as he brought his lips to hers. This time they kissed passionately as they moulded into each others embrace, despite the limited space. Her mouth opened as his toungue slipped in meeting hers, while her arms closed around him. They had never felt quite so alive - both had imagined how it would feel to kiss after so many years, but they instincitvly both moved slowly, taking time to feel and taste what they had craved for so long.

They kissed passionately until eventually they both broke away at the same instant and looked into each others eyes. Olivia gave a small laugh, and wiped the tears away which had fallen while she battled with herself to tell him how she felt.

Less than two weeks ago Elliot feared he might never hear her laugh again, never have a chance to hold her, dare to cross the line and kiss her. He grinned at her as his phone rang, picking it up and tossing it into the back of the car.

"You should probably get that El," she laughed.

"It can wait," he smiled.

"Might be Cragen," she said.

"You're not allowed back for another week and not even IAB wanna see me right now, so I don't think either of us are in high demand, it can wait," he said.

"El - is this gonna be OK?" she asked feeling suddenly concerned.

"OK? I'm personally ecstatic Olivia!" he laughed.

"I mean..at work," she began.

"Why not? _We_ are what matter Liv - _us_. everything else can sort itself out around us, _and it will_."

"OK," she smiled.

_As soon as they were inside Elliot's apartment and the door had closed behind them, they fell into each others arms. Their kisses became increasingly passionate as did their shared caress, as they made up for the long years they had ached in their minds and in their bodies to become as one. They didn't break away for a second as they clumsily made their way into Elliot's bedroom, bumping against a wall and almost not making it through the doorway as their bodies collided making Olivia catch her breath. Shecbriefly broke off from their kiss as she gave a gasp and the look in her eyes made Elliot's heart race as he thought of what was to come._

_Once in the bedroom as she hit the mattress, he was down with her, his hands and her hands both seeking out each others clothing and desperately tugging at buttons and fabric as their desire grew furnace hot. _

_Finally, at last in bed together, they needed no words as he claimed her with with a kiss and she clung to him and finally, at last, Eliot made love to her._

_The next morning, they woke in each others arms - Elliot placed a kiss on her head and watched her as she began to stir._

_"You're beautiful Liv," he whispered._

_Olivia smiled as she opened her eyes, wasting no time in closing the space between them and kissing him, determined there would be no more space, no more running, no end to the new and wonderful closeness they had found, that wrapped them in a glow that could be nothing other than purest love._

**LATER THAT DAY**

Elliot stood outside the door of the visitors room. He had gone with Olivia into the room to talk to Sarah, and watched the news of her mother's killer being arrested switch something back on inside her eyes. He now looked inside the room, and smiled at her, the warmth and compassion she carried for others never ceased to make him love her even more. She sat with Sarah, holding her, as Sarah thanked her, and told her that she felt safe again.

Walking away from the door, Elliot walked over to the soda machine and pulled some coins from his pocket, pausing as he studied the options. Olivia didn't drink soda these days. That was a new thing since she had come back - _since she had come back_. He no longer felt that she might run, slip out of his life again. Their connection ran deeper than it ever had _\- if that were even possible,_ and for that he felt a great comfort. Whatever else changed around him, Olivia Benson was always going to be there. He slipped the coins back into his pocket as he sat down, waiting for her.

A short while later, Olivia exited the room and walked down the corridor toward him. He looked up, smiling as he saw her. She looked at peace - content that she had done all that she could for Sarah, and had helped build her back up slightly in the process.

She smiled as her eyes met his and he stood, offering his hand to her. She took it and they walked out of the hospital, hand in hand together.

Olivia smiled as she thought of his words. What mattered was them - _everything else could sort itself out around them - all they needed was each other._

**_I want a happy ending for these two so badly! :-) Can you tell ? ;-) _**

**_Thank you for reading :-)_**


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